Call for clearer labels on meat products

Food labelling has been thrust back into the spotlight as concerns intensify over the lack of information on meat products.

In the aftermath of the Irish pork scare, various lobby groups have called for better information on products, including the Unite union, which has blasted Tesco for inadequate food labelling.

The union held protests last Thursday (December 11) outside nine Tesco stores and accused the retailer of increasing the amount of cheap meat that it imported from countries like Thailand. The union said that this is “contributing to the driving down of conditions for low-paid workers in Britain and Ireland, who are employed by companies in the meat supply chain”

Unite said that current labels on meat products do not indicate how long ago the meat product was slaughtered, where it was cooked, or whether it had undergone preservation processes such as chilling or freezing. “The meat label from products sourced overseas often does not tell consumers what they should know about the meat product they are buying,” said Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley.

The union’s comments follow calls from the Conservative Party, which demanded a better labelling regime for processed foods. In the aftermath of the dioxin scare regarding Irish pork products, the Tories were particularly critical as it has emerged that food packaged as ‘Made in Britain’ could contain Irish pork.

Neil Parish, Conservative chairman of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said that at present processed foods containing pork may contain ingredients from all over the EU -or even from outside the EU - yet if they were processed in the UK, the final product could still be labelled as being ‘Made in Britain’.

“We are in desperate need of a better labelling system,” said Parish. “If all meat ingredients were traceable, either by way of a barcode or a link to a website which listed them all and their country of origin, it would be far easier to be sure that potentially contaminated meat could be traced in the event of a scare.

“Labelling should be clear and should properly inform the customer of what is in that product and where it has come from. Anything less is not only potentially dangerous but stops consumers making an informed choice.”

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ireland), Brendan Smith, announced that products verified as having had no association with the potentially contaminated animal feed in Ireland would carry a special label developed by Bord Bia, confirming that products are safe to consume.

Any pork on UK shelves, however, will have been approved for sale, whether it carries a special label or not, said the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Products like pizza, sandwiches and meat sauces that contain less than 20% of Irish pork do not have to be tested or withdrawn from sale.

“Food businesses will be testing products like pork pies and sausages, which contain more than 20% of Irish pork from affected farms to make sure that they don’t contain illegal levels of dioxins,” said the FSA. “Food businesses need to satisfy themselves and demonstrate to local authorities that any pork on sale is unaffected.”