Birds Eye drops 'British' label off imported meat

The misleading packaging was highlighted by numerous campaigns including those from food champion Rob Ward, the Conservative Party and the Sunday Telegraph.

Mr Ward recently appeared on the BBC saying he wanted to ‘lift the lid’ on some of the ‘scurrilous tricks’ employed by major companies to convince consumers they were eating British food when in fact, they were not.  

With consumers spending just five seconds reading each label in the supermarket Mr Ward said it was time to act.

“For too long, consumers have been duped by manufacturers who dazzle them with all sorts of messages to get their attention – often in the hope of disguising the reality,” he said.

More than 2,000 people visited Mr Ward’s ‘honest labelling’ website – voting for the ‘Angels’ and ‘Sinners’ of the food world – with Birds Eye’s ‘Great British Menu’ attracting much of the criticism.

Birds Eye has now replaced the word ‘British’ with ‘traditional’ – although Mr Ward said the word ‘traditional’ was still misleading.

“I don’t think that this product, which is made in a substantial factory in Southern Ireland, reflects any traditional manufacturing process,” said Mr Ward.

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