20 January, 2010

With a new EU  Directive on ‘Food Information to Consumers’ in the offing, Conservative MEPs are pushing for changes in food labelling that will ensure consumers have the necessary information to make an  informed choice. Robert Sturdy and his fellow Conservative MEPs want mandatory country-of-origin labelling. They also hope this will encourage support for local produce.

Current law means that a chicken sandwich can have “produced in the UK” on the label but the chicken could have come all the way from Thailand. This is because processed food only has to indicate the “location of the last substantial change” under current rules. As long as the chicken was placed between two pieces of bread in Britain it can be labelled as produced in Britain.

Robert Sturdy said:

“This is not a protectionist measure, it is about giving the consumer the right to make clear and informed choices about the food they buy.  Clear and transparent labelling should indicate which countries the food stuffs have originated in, not simply the country in which they were processed.  We need to close this loophole to protect our consumers and keep them fully informed about where the food they are eating has been sourced.”

This campaign also has the full backing of Eastern Region MEPs Geoffrery Van Orden and Vicky Ford.

Geoffrey said:

“Meat labelled ‘British’ must from an animal born and bred in Britain. The East of England is a major food producing area. This is something we can take pride in and people want to know what they are buying really is from local produce. I would like to think that the industry would get ahead of the legislation and introduce changes itself.”

Vicky added: “I know that we all like to support local firms and local businesses, particularly when it comes to the food we eat.   Currently people are being denied the right to make a clear and informed choice. Conservatives want to change this. We will be working in 2010 to alter to how our food is labelled.”

At Lotus, Mr Sturdy was joined by campaigner John Flack. They were both impressed by the company’s innovation and development of low carbon green technology and how it has met the challenges of EU legislation regarding reduced carbon emissions.

They were given a tour of the site, and afterwards Mr Sturdy was effusive in his praise:

“Norfolk can be very proud of this company. I feel really privileged to have had had the opportunity to meet its designers and the people on the shop floor. They are world leaders as their innovative technology is being followed by the motor industry around the world. This company is a great success story. I was also blown away by how proud the workforce is to work here because that is so vital for any organisation’s success.”

Mr Flack said: “They are so clearly very proud of what they produce at Lotus, and it is something we should all feel proud of too. They are leading the way, not only with their iconic sports cars, but also with their cutting edge engineering high technology which is being used in cars manufactured around the world. This business really should be held up as an excellent model for others in the region to follow.”

Mr Sturdy, who sits on the Environment and Agricultural Committees, also visited Bayer CropScience which develops chemicals used by the agricultural industry. One of the topics discussed was the new EU restrictions on pesticides.

Mr Sturdy said: “I was interested to see that they are still producing the same products used on sugar beet for the last 30 years, a crop which is very important in East Anglia. I was very pleased to visit and support local agriculture and local products.”

Euro-MP Robert Sturdy hosted the launch of a colorectal cancer campaign in the European Parliament this week to help save lives across the European Union.

This is the second year Mr Sturdy has supported europacolon, a charity which is strongly urging all 27 member states to fully implement EU recommendations for colorectal cancer screening.

Europacolon is hoping to gain the support of 1.5 million people across Europe by signing an online pledge in support of their Manifesto for Life, which is aimed at key EU policymakers.

Mr Sturdy said this was a deadly disease which was highly treatable if diagnosed early, but people thought would never happen to them, and rarely talked about it because of the delicate area of the body involved. But he said it was crucial to raise awareness and help people understand it.

“I would like to congratulate everyone at europacolon on this important work so far which has been a great achievement and I hope we can continue to help you in the European Parliament. This should not be a taboo subject.”

Jola Gore-Booth, founder of europacolon, said colorectal cancer was the second highest cause of cancer deaths in Europe and it was crucial that all member states implemented a screening programme. To date, only 12 EU member states comply with this, including the UK.

She said: “I would like to thank Mr Sturdy for hosting our launch today because his continued support is invaluable in raising the profile about this deadly and treatable disease across Europe. We look forward to returning here next year with a new inflatable colon to make our campaign eye catching and unforgettable.”

The campaign was launched in the European Parliament in Brussels in 17 March. More than 412,000 European citizens are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. In 2003, the European Code Against Cancer and the EU Council developed recommendations which said that men and women over 50 years should have a colorectal cancer screening. It is estimated that up to 50% of colorectal cancer deaths could be reduced by 2020 if positive active is taken now.

*A video showing the launch of the campaign can be seen here:

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Pic caption: From left to right:

Hedwig Neesen,  Colorectal cancer survivor and europacolon Belgium member;

Vitor Neves. Manager, europacolon, from Portugal;

Alojz Peterle, MEP Slovenia;

Jola Gore-Booth, europacolon Founder/Director;

Robert Sturdy MEP;

Frieda Brepoels, MEP Belgium;

Eric Van Cutsem, Professor of Internal Medicine University of Leaven, Belgium, and Medical Director of europacolon.

Notes to Editors:

Robert Sturdy MEP is available for interview on 0032 2284 7294 or through Press Officer Ellee Seymour on 01353 648564 or 07939 811961.

1. Further information and the online pledge can be found at www.europacolon.com and from Julia Kennedy, Director of Operations, on 07766 084256.

I would like to congratulate Jamie Oliver for his insightful Channel 4 programme “Jamie Saves Our Bacon” on pork production which highlighted the unacceptable anomalies surrounding food labelling. I know this is an issue which causes much confusion for consumers and is one I feel passionate about.

As an international trade spokesman for the European Parliament, I have actively been involved in trying to change the law so consumers are fully informed about the food they are buying. The present labelling system is often misleading and the British publish may not be aware of what they are putting in their shopping basket.

I have been very much involved with highlighting this on a global level as I co-chair the Inter-Parliamentary Word Trade Organisation Committee which has been pushing not only for country of origin, but also for region of origin in some cases, with some success. For example, a leg of lamb could state it came from Wales and turkey from Norfolk, both regions highly acclaimed for this meat and poultry. We successfully persuaded the Canadians to agree to new food labelling laws, but then the WTO Doha negotiations fell down and our progress has stalled, but I am continuing to do all I can to maintain pressure on this important topic.

If ever we needed proof to justify a reason for clear and transparent labelling, then we should think back to last December when Ireland had a major food scare and there was a recall of all domestically produced pork products because of contamination with cancer-causing dioxin. It found it was unable to trace which pork products on supermarket shelves were produced in Ireland, in the EU or imported and processed in the EU. Food producers should have nothing to hide in what they are selling and where it has been sourced.

PRESS RELEASE

10 December 2008

ROBERT STURDY URGES CLEARER LABELLING ON FOOD PRODUCTS

Euro MEP Robert Sturdy has called for more transparent and honest labelling on food products to be introduced after it emerged that food packaged as “Made in Britain” could contain Irish pork caught up in the diocin alert in the Republic.

Mr Sturdy has vigorously campaigned for clearer food labelling and supports the EU’s strict regulations regarding food health and safety.

He wants to end the loophole which allows processed food made with foodstuffs sourced from other countries in the world which does not have the same standards as the EU to be labelled as “Made in Britain”, as long it was finally processed in the UK.

Mr Sturdy said: “This is not an honest description of the original source of food. Clearer and more transparent labelling should indicate which countries the foodstuffs have originated from. Every time there is a food scare story, I say the same thing. I have repeatedly requested that in order to protect our public health and excellent food safety record in the UK, we need to close this loophole to protect our consumers and keep them fully informed about where the food they are eating has been sourced.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Robert Sturdy MEP is available for interview on 0032 2284 7294 or through Press Officer Ellee Seymour on 01353 648564 or 07939 811961.