The Conservatives have pledged to close the “flag loophole” on food labelling in a bid to “back British farmers”.
The proposal was unveiled on Monday by the oppostion party, which warned it was “increasingly urgent” especially in light of the “devastating Family Farm and Family Business Tax” and the “lack of clarity” over the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Following a transition period of at least 24 months, single-ingredient products would need to be entirely “born, raised, grown, slaughtered and processed in the UK” to bear the union flag or ‘Made in Britain’ on packaging.
For multi-ingredient products, the party said it would consult on a requirement for them to contain 90% UK-sourced ingredients.
“Currently, food grown overseas yet merely assembled or packaged here can fly the flag or be described as ‘British’,” said shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins. “The Conservatives will close the flag loophole and make food origin labelling clearer so that consumers can be sure that they’re buying British food which is actually grown and produced in our country.
“British farmers and food producers are crucial to our nation’s food security, feeding the nation with high-standard produce. Making origin labelling clearer and simpler will encourage us all to eat more British-made food.”
The Conservatives added that the party would “call upon and support” devolved nations to implement identical labelling standards.
The issue was brought back into focus this week, when food writer and sustainable farming and fishing advocate Jenny Jefferies found Spanish-origin broccoli on union flag-labelled shelves.
Jefferies wrote on LinkedIn: “Morrisons please explain why you’re selling broccoli from Spain and putting them on shelves showing you’re apparently ‘supporting British farmers’.” Morrisons explained it was an isolated incident and that the signage should only be placed alongside British produce.
Read more: Defra launches £345m package of farmer support
While in power, the Conservatives ran a consultation on food labelling between March and May 2024. The party said it would consider the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of an overarching approach to animal welfare and food strategy.
A spokesperson for Defra said it was continuing to review the rules around origin labelling and pointed to current legislation, which said food that does not have UK origin cannot be labelled in a way, such as with pictures or words, that states or suggests it does.
“The UK maintains high food labelling standards so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy,” a spokesperson said. “Fundamentally, this government is backing our farmers to produce food for the nation, whether that’s through £345m in grants for new equipment or innovative projects or through the new era of partnership to ensure we have a profitable and sustainable future for farming.”
Although the NFU recognised the importance of clearer labelling, it warned food imports from countries with lower, cheaper standards of production were of greater concern.
“Labelling on its own is not the answer to safeguarding our own high standards from imports that are produced under conditions that would be illegal in the UK,” a spokesperson said. “That is why we continue to call on government to introduce a robust system of core production standards that must be met by both domestically produced and imported food to be sold in the UK.”
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