Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has voiced concerns about the “serious risk of British consumers being misled” by the Union flag on supermarket shelves.
But leaving the EU has allowed the UK to better legislate against it and help farmers enjoy many other benefits, he told the Daily Express.
And now he is acting on his concerns by launching a new consultation which will be the first step towards changing the rules, with the Government expected to “respond and bring forward proposals as soon as possible”, a source told this newspaper.
Speaking from the campaign trail in East Sussex, Mr Barclay said: “As a result of Brexit we can have labelling that better recognises the quality of British produce so the Union Jack is not stuck on things that haven’t been produced in the UK, which is a key concern farmers have raised with me.”
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His intervention comes after a new study found thousands of British consumers did not know the Union Jack on food packaging did not mean all of the ingredients were British.
The survey of 2,000 Brits also found respondents chose British produce to support local farmers.
Almost two-thirds of shoppers felt misled by supermarkets after learning products with the British flag could also contain ingredients from outside the UK, the study commissioned by Lion Eggs found.
Mr Barclay argued consumers should be empowered to know exactly where and the products they are buying come from and when they were produced.
He said: “I’m very concerned about it. I think there is a serious risk of British consumers being misled when the Union Jack is on a shelf and yet the product on that shelf has not been produced in Britain, where for example, a pig has been reared overseas but is presented as British bacon.
“We should empower the British consumer, so they know exactly when the product has been produced in Britain.
“Many people want to buy British because they know that British producers build among the best quality produce in the world.
“And that is why we are proud to display what is British because it is very high quality and British consumers want to eat.”
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Meanwhile sustainable farming champion Joe Stanley, who spoke to us about the dire wet weather hitting his farm’s yields, argued the consumer was “blindly unaware of where most of their food is coming from”.
The Leicestershire-based farmer argued the Union Jack was being “used and abused” by big supermarkets.
He said: “The Union Jack means nothing when it comes to food labelling.
“Go into your local supermarket today you will see banners saying ‘backing British farmers’ above shelves full of apples that have been flown in from South Africa and and France.
“The Union Jack is used and abused. The only thing that guarantees produce is British is the red tractor logo, which can only be put on products which are 100% British, which are mostly things like vegetables and cuts of meat.
“So the consumer is blindly unaware of where most of their food is coming from.
“And you could argue actively misled by the use of the Union Jack on products which are absolutely not British.”
The Government is carrying out a consultation open until May 7, 2024, on “fairer and clearer” food labelling designed to provide transparency to consumers and support farmers by recognising their products in a bid to actively crack down on the issue.
It is seeking views on proposals to “improve transparency and consistency through improved country of origin, and animal welfare labelling in the UK”.
According to official figures, roughly 60% of all food eaten in the UK is produced by British farmers, with the nation’s agri-food and seafood sectors producing more than £120billion for the economy every year.
Mr Barclay, who asked for the consultation, made it clear in an announcement at the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year that the UK would look at ways to strengthen existing country-of-origin labelling rules by mandating how and where the information is displayed.
The Environment Secretary also said he was keen to work with supermarkets on the issue.
He told us: “I am keen to work with supermarkets to ensure that they better inform their consumers about the good high-quality British produce that is on offer.
“Already supermarkets are recognised through my parliamentary colleagues’ ‘Buy British’ label campaign, which is a welcome step.
“But they need to go further.
“And that is why we’re looking at the labelling regulations and why I’m committed to working with our supermarkets to ensure that shoppers have the best available choice.
“And that includes knowing when they are buying British because it is such good quality.”
