Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Albert Owen (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 8 February 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Meat Exports

Question: I welcome the Minister to the Committee. Will he assure us that exports of Welsh premium lamb—the best lamb in the world—are clearly labelled? Are he and his fellow Ministers looking seriously at the country-of-origin issue so that meat that comes from abroad but is packaged in this country has the country of origin labelled on it? There should be a Welsh dragon on it if it is produced in Wales, and information telling us otherwise if it is not.

Answer: I entirely share the hon. Gentleman’s demand and desire for accurate country-of-origin labelling. No doubt Welsh lamb for export is properly labelled when it leaves Wales. The precise labelling in the country to which it is going will be the responsibility of that country’s Government, because they will have their own labelling regulations. I assure him that we have taken two important actions on imports into the UK. First, we have a voluntary code, to which all supermarkets, major retailers and the hospitality sector have signed up, stating that all fresh meat will be labelled with the country of origin, which means the animal’s true origin and not just where it was processed. Secondly, the food information regulations in Europe have completed their progress and will apply, certainly initially, to all fresh meat. They stipulate that all fresh meat has to advertise its country of origin, which means where the animal originated. Those are two major steps towards meeting the hon. Gentleman’s objective.

Secondary information