"Labelling needs to provide accurate, clear and relevant information so consumers can make an informed choice. People who want to buy great British food want to be certain that is exactly what they are getting. We already have country of origin on many foods such as beef, eggs, fruit and vegetables, wine, honey, olive oil and, from next year, EU organic products. Consumers want consistency in across all sectors and we believe there is no reason why mandatory country of origin labelling should not be extended to the remaining sectors, as well as to the main ingredients of semi-processed foods. There are loopholes in the current legislation leading to clear cases of misleading labelling - such as giving the last place of processing (e.g, ham) and the place a product was packed (e.g, cheese) - that finally need to be tightened up." NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond.

Mr Raymond said a recent Which? survey showed that 80% of people thought country of origin labelling was important for meat and poultry and 76% for dairy. The survey also showed that consumers want labels showing where meat was bred and reared (74%) as well as where it was produced and processed (77%).

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