Overview

This bill amends the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 to require clearer labelling of the country of origin of meat and other food products. The aim is to give consumers more information about where their food comes from, preventing misleading information.

Description

The bill mandates changes to food labelling regulations. Key changes include:

• Definition of "meat product": Expands the definition to include various meat types and mechanically recovered meat.
• Country of origin labelling for meat: Requires labelling to specify the country where the animal was born, and additionally where it was reared or slaughtered if different.
• Country of origin labelling for other foods: Mandates country of origin labelling for any food where omitting this information could materially mislead the consumer.
• "British" labelling restrictions: Defines the conditions under which a meat product can be labelled "British" (born, reared, and slaughtered in the UK).
• Threshold for meat component labelling: Specifies that a meat ingredient must comprise at least 10% of a product by weight to necessitate country of origin labelling.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify government spending figures. The cost will likely be associated with enforcement and potential support for businesses to adapt to new labeling requirements. No concrete figures are provided in the bill itself.

Groups Affected

• Consumers: Will benefit from clearer information about food origin, enabling informed choices.
• Food producers and retailers: Will need to adapt their labelling practices, potentially incurring costs to meet the new requirements.
• Food importers: May face increased complexity in tracking and labelling imported products.

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