Tories: Only British beef is British

Monday, 16 February 2009 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

The Conservatives have launched a campaign to clear up Britain's food labelling system, with complaints that meat farmed outside the UK can be sold as 'British'.

Having enlisted celebrity chef support, the party will announce the drive to the National farmers Union (NFU) this afternoon.

"For a decade Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has promised to clamp down on misleading information, and leading supermarkets gave a commitment in a voluntary code that they would not sell imported meat processed in the UK under a British label," shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert will say.

"Yet poor labelling persists.

"People have a right to know where their food comes from. Meat labelled British should be born and bred in Britain, raised to our high welfare standards."

The Tories want the system cleared up, with only meat born, reared and processed in Britain to carry the 'British' label.

"Other EU countries fight for the interests of their consumers and their farming industry within the trading rules. It's time for the British government to show the same spine," Mr Herbert will say.

TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said: "Consumers have a right to know where their food comes from and what's in it.

"Any policy, whether it's pursued by our government or our retailers, that stands in the way of that is wrong and must be fought."

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