Minister ups calls for country-of-origin food labels

Food minister Jim Paice will today call on retailers to make it easier for consumers to reduce the so-called food miles of the products they purchase by providing clearer labels detailing the country of origin of food products.

Paice is expected to challenge retailers to work with the government to voluntarily improve country-of-origin food labels, particularly for meat and dairy products, on a visit to Melton Mowbray, home of the protected pork pie.

Speaking ahead of the trip, Paice revealed that he has written to food industry leaders to emphasise that the government wants "clarity and transparency for the consumers, who want to make a choice based on the origin of their food – particularly if they believe they’re buying British".

He added that food provenance was increasingly important to consumers and allowed British firms to boost sales and consumer interest.

Defra said that the pig meat industry had already pioneered a good practice code for country-of-origin labelling that it would like to see adopted by other food producers.

It added that while it was keen to reach a voluntary agreement with the industry, the EU is considering new rules on origin labelling and Defra will keep the option of new compulsory rules open.