There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.NFU 2010: Benn ends 'nonsense' pig labelling
BRITISH pig producers will be rewarded for their high standards of production with a new code of practice on the labelling of pork and pork products.
Defra Secretary Hilary Benn announced the new labelling code at the NFU conference in Birmingham this morning (Tuesday, February 23).
“A year ago I said that I wanted to end the nonsense of unclear country of origin labelling on pig meat products - and through the Task Force bringing together farmers, processors and retailers, we now have a code of practice that will do this.
“I expect all major retailers to sign up and join those who have already decided to end the confusion for shoppers. If they don’t, their consumers should ask them why they’re not in favour of clear honest labelling,” said Mr Benn.
The code ensures a commitment to clearly display the country of origin on retail packs and where single country of origin is displayed it means that pig was born, reared and slaughtered in that country.
Major supermarkets - including Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and the Coop - have already committed to the code.
Stewart Houston, Task Force member and chairman of Bpex and NPA, said it was good news for British farmers.
“Clear labelling is great news for farmers because it will result in more sales of British pork products,” he said.
“Of course this will also help improve the price of British pork products. British pork has been farmed to the highest standards and it is time our farmers were rewarded with a fair price for their product.”
The key elements of country of origin code include:
- A commitment to clearly display the country of origin on retail packs;
- Where single country of origin is displayed it means that the pig was born, reared and slaughtered in that country;
- The term “produced in the UK” will not be used without qualification of the origin of the pork;
- The use of national terms and symbols (such as flags) will mean that the pork comes from that country;
- Product specific terms such as Wiltshire Cure will mean that the pork used to make the product comes from within the UK. If not the origin will be clearly stated;
- Imagery that could imply UK origin will only be used on UK origin product, otherwise there will be a statement of origin on the pack;
- Food service outlets will make origin information readily available to customers such as on the menu, in literature or on company websites; and
- Where the term “local” is used it will be clearly defined.
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