Irish dioxin scare in pig feed sparks renewed calls for country of origin labelling

They point out that under current law meat from pigs reared in Ireland and processed in the UK could be labelled as British.

Conservative Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice said consumers were faced with uncertainty over the origin of the pork they buy as a result of this ‘deception’.

“For years the Government has resisted attempts to require clear country of origin labelling, accepting that the consumer is often deceived,” he said.

“We now have potential health risks as a result of this deception. Sausages, pies or bacon labelled as British may well contain contaminated Irish pigmeat but even a consumer who hears the warning may look in the fridge and wrongly decide that as it is labelled British there is no risk.

“This is potentially dangerous. With public health at risk how much longer is the Government going to dither?”

He described the current labelling system as a ‘confusing mess’, with, for example, country of origin labelling required ‘for beef, but not pork or lamb; chicken from Brazil, but not from Belgium; honey, but not jam; olive oil, but not sunflower oil’.

He reiterated Conservative calls for compulsory country of origin labelling, where the country in which the food was grown or reared, rather than processed, is ‘unambiguously stated’.

There have been four attempts by Conservative MPs to introduce a country of origin Food Labelling Bill since 2000 but none of these Bill progressed beyond their Second Reading.

Liberal Democrat Food and Rural Affairs Roger Williams also said issue of food labelling needed to be looked at again.

He said the rules made tracing products back ‘particularly difficult for concerned consumers’ in the current situation.

“In the interests of the consumer and of British agriculture it is essential that food is properly labelled and this issue must be looked at again,” he said.

Farming Minister Jane Kennedy responded by saying she was keen to improve UK labelling laws.

“I have said for some time now that I want to see clearer country of origin labelling which shows where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered,” she said.

“The UK is making this point at European level and is pleased to see that discussions on the issue are beginning to happen in the EU. I am examining closely what it may be possible for the UK to do.”

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