News
24th September 09
9/24/2009
Ulster Unionist MLA, Tom Elliott has expressed his delight following the news that Tesco’s has embraced the Conservative and Unionist Honest Food Campaign by agreeing to declare more information about the country of origin on a number of their meat produc
Elliott welcomes Tesco’s action regarding Honest Food Labelling
Ulster Unionist MLA, Tom Elliott has expressed his delight following the news that Tesco’s has embraced the Conservative and Unionist Honest Food Campaign by agreeing to declare more information about the country of origin on a number of their meat products.
In a statement, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone representative said: “I am delighted by the news that Tesco has decided to support our Honest Food Campaign. It not only shows that we are moving forward and demonstrates a level of willingness on the part of the supermarket to listen to the views of the general public. The aim of the Campaign is to ensure that the current rules governing the labelling process, which allows items to labelled as British simply because they were packaged in the United Kingdom rather than been based on where the meat was reared, are addressed effectively and honest labelling for the consumer is restored. While we in the Ulster Unionists and Conservatives will plan to legislate for this if necessary, it would be preferably for the supermarkets to take action now by agreeing through a voluntary scheme for everyone to enact the changes that the people on the ground want to see.”
While the issue of honest food labeling has surfaced on occasion throughout the last number of years, real focus has been brought to the matter through the Honest Food Campaign which has the backing of many well known organisations and celebrities including Anthony Worrall Thompson, the National Farmers Union and the RSPCA. With members of the general public discovering that many food products they think are British actually having been reared in other parts of the world, Mr Elliott was keen to stress that people should take hope that the campaign is working and that honest and truly reflective labeling was becoming a reality again.
He went on to say: “People are sick and tired of buying products which declare “Made in Britain” or which display the Union Flag only to then discover that the actual meat was reared elsewhere. Take bacon for example. While approximately 56% of bacon is labeled as British or carries the Union flag, just 20% of bacon eaten in the UK
“The vast majority of consumers not only want to know that the product is British because of the high standards we employ here and the quality of our products, but also because they want to support British farmers. They should be able to do this with confidence and that is what we want to see happen. Our campaign is continuing and I trust that others will now follow the steps taken by Tesco towards making honest food labeling a reality.”
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