Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Jane Kennedy (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 4 February 2010 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Food Labelling

Question: Will my hon. Friend give my greetings to the taskforce, and will he come shopping with me when I visit my local Sainsbury's, Aldi, Tesco and Co-op? [Interruption.] If there were a Waitrose I would shop there, too. All those supermarkets now have on their shelves products across the whole range that have their origin on the label, in some cases including the county of origin. No discerning shopper these days can seriously claim that there is not a choice. The voluntary approach is the way to go, and it is working. Will he encourage the supermarkets even further down that route?

Answer: I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for the date that she has offered me. I am sure that my wife will read Hansard with interest to confirm that it is a business appointment. I commend my right hon. Friend because, as my predecessor, she started discussions on country of origin labelling with the retailers and officials in the Department as far back as January 2009. I congratulate her on that. Her activities pioneered the success that we have seen and that will come in future, and I will be happy to engage with her in terms of shopping.

Secondary information