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 provide consumers with more information to make informed choices about the food they buy.

Description

The bill mandates changes to food labelling regulations, primarily focusing on the country of origin of meat products. Key changes include:

• Definition of "meat product": Expands the definition to include a wider range of meat-containing foods.
• Mandatory country of origin labelling for meat: Requires labelling to state the country where the animal was born, and also where it was raised or slaughtered if different.
• "British" labelling restrictions: Defines the conditions under which a product can be labelled "British" – the animal must be born, reared, and slaughtered in the UK.
• Threshold for meat content: Specifies that a meat ingredient must constitute at least 10% of a product by weight to trigger mandatory origin labelling.
• Misleading labelling: Extends the requirement for origin labelling to other food products if omitting this information might mislead the consumer.

The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 is explicitly overridden for the purposes of these new regulations.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify government spending. Implementation costs will likely involve resources for regulatory enforcement and consumer education, but no figures are provided in the bill itself.

Groups Affected

• Consumers: Will benefit from more transparent and informative food labels.
• Food producers and retailers: Will need to adapt their labelling practices to comply with the new regulations. This may involve increased costs.
• Food importers: Will need to ensure their labelling complies with the new regulations.

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