Country of origin labelling needs to be extended to processed foods

The Countryside Alliance is delighted that Environment Secretary Liz Truss believes the future is bright for British food and farming. In a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference yesterday (7 January) Ms Truss announced that Defra analysis shows "the economy of rural Britain, powered by food and farming, could be as productive as towns within 10 years". She also announced record sales and exports of English and Welsh wines and beer and a package of actions to help the dairy industry. These include pushing Europe for full country of origin labelling on milk and dairy products, so milk produced abroad cannot be marketed as British. Countryside Alliance head of policy Sarah Lee said: "We welcome this move but would like Ms Truss to go further. We are campaigning for all meat products – including those where meat is an ingredient - to have full country of origin labelling so consumers can be confident that a food marketed as British really does support our farmers. "From April all fresh meat sold in the UK must be labelled showing where the animal was reared and slaughtered, however this does not apply to products like sausages or bacon. It remains the case that sausages made in Britain from Danish pork can be legitimately labelled as British." For further information, contact the Countryside Alliance head of media Charlotte Cooper on 07500 834163 or [email protected]