She writes:
A decision from the European Parliament last month called on the European Commission to introduce new mandatory country of origin labelling requirements on processed meat and dairy products.
A non-binding resolution was approved by the full Parliament during a vote in Strasbourg.
The resolution confirms the need for greater transparency within food labelling, and asks for the Commission to revisit its position and ‘implement the mandatory indication of country of origin for all kinds of drinking milk, dairy products and meat products’.
It highlights the success of voluntary labelling schemes but argues that legislation should be brought forward on labelling ‘as a priority’.
It’s not the first time MEPs have asked the Commission to look at making country of origin information mandatory. But the Commission has so far rejected the request.
It became a legal requirement to show origin information on unprocessed meat last year, and we would argue that the origin information is now in the supply chain and would make it much easier for food processors to label more processed foods.
We understand that it would be too onerous to have origin information on all processed foods, such as the ham in quiche , or the milk in patisserie products, for example, but where the meat or dairy is the primary ingredient in lightly processed products, we believe is possible.
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We are working with the meat supply chain to understand where the real difficulties lie, because some retailers already provide good origin information voluntarily on dairy and meat products; the Red Tractor logo now appears on processed foods to explain where primary ingredients come from.
All of the major retailers have signed up to a set of Voluntary Principles that lay out best practice for labelling meat and dairy products.
But while this is welcome it’s disappointing to see the principles fading away.
They have not been reissued since 2010, even to just reflect wholesale, industry- wide legal changes to labelling law. While in France the government is trailing mandatory origin labelling, over here Defra has committed to revisit to voluntary principals. So far there has been little progress.
It’s so important for our farmers to know that consumers, when they want to buy British products, can do with clarity. As the European legal system seems to have stalled for now, it’s even more important to get the Voluntary Principles reinvigorated, with increased buy-in from retailers. And not just retailers, but also foodservice providers, where the menu is the equivalent of the shelf edge, and the shop front to highlight the origin of the food they are supplying.