A new packaging law may come to pass in the UK which will force supermarkets to state clearly on product labels whether or not their food comes from Britain, the guardian.com reports.
The proposed measure is the brainchild of Elizabeth Truss, the government’s environment secretary. It was elicited to a large extent by the ongoing dairy-price dispute, which most recently resulted in the creation of a blockade at a Tesco logistics centre by farmers.
Truss said, “I want to see better branding and clearer labelling of dairy products in supermarkets, retailers and throughout the catering industry so that people know when they are buying British, and we have agreed to have further discussions with the food industry on this.”
Beyond packaging, she has also committed to protecting farmers from the travails of fluctuating dairy prices, for which the UK National Farmers Union wants guaranteed long-term contracts.
Truss stated, “It is in everyone’s interest that supermarkets, caterers and the food industry have a secure supply of milk. That’s why I am pleased to see some supermarkets share the risk with farmers over price fluctuations. We are urgently setting up a new working group with the UK farming ministers and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to develop best-practice models with the industry.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
