The NFU believes in clear unambiguous labelling to enable shoppers to make informed purchasing decisions. Any product claims must be justified to ensure the consumer is not misled.
We welcome measures to improve country of origin labelling and to give shoppers more transparency on where a product has been produced. Most consumers recognise that UK farms have high animal welfare standards (78%) so going forward, clear front of pack country of origin labelling can allow shoppers to select products produced by British farmers.
We recognise the role of labelling must not be overestimated as a tool for changing consumer behaviour. The NFU’s Election Manifesto sets out our key asks. Research shows that while customers may state that provenance and welfare are important, there are inconsistencies between what shoppers say is important to them outside of the store and what then actually influences their purchasing decisions in store. Factors such as provenance are outweighed by the price, taste, and appearance.
NFU data has shown that consumers care about the provenance and quality of food they consume within the out of home market. Labelling should provide consumers with the ability to make informed choices when dining and to drive transparency and accountability within these complex supply chains.
The NFU received over a million signatures from consumers wanting to protect our high production standards, however method of production labelling is not the way to meet this consumer demand.
We urge the government to begin the process of enshrining a set of core environmental and animal welfare standards in law for all agri-food imports, setting a minimum threshold in domestic regulation that imports must meet to access the UK market. This would require producers overseas to meet a comparable standard to domestic farmers.
Method of production is not necessarily an indication of welfare and the NFU does not support any mandatory welfare or production method labelling.
We believe any moves to introduce a production or welfare labelling system would over-simplify a complex area, risk causing confusion for consumers and would carry an unreasonable burden to food and farming businesses.
The NFU also believes that this is an opportunity to focus on improving awareness and understanding of the labels and logos for existing assurance schemes, such as Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured.
The UK labelling system can be improved by standardising definitions and ensuring information is clear, concise and easily understood. If consumers wish to learn more about the welfare and sustainability of a product, further information can be provided online, and new and existing technology, like QR codes, can be used to direct shoppers on where to find out more.
