24/02/05
The Tenant Farmers Association's Annual General Meeting in London
on Tuesday February 22 was told that the rules on country of origin
labelling of food were causing UK consumers to be deceived.
The comments came from Jim Paice MP, Shadow Minister of Agriculture
for the Conservative Party, in response to the "Farming Industry
Marketing Strategy" report commissioned jointly by the TFA
and National Beef Association (NBA) and published in early February.
"The current rules on food labelling are a disgrace. It is
simply not acceptable that meat can be imported to this country
and in some way processed so that it can be labelled as British.
It is a deceit of the consumer and these rules must change" said
Mr Paice.
TFA Chief Executive George Dunn said, "We were extremely
pleased that Mr Paice gave his unequivocal support to the recommendations
of our strategy. We are particularly pleased that he chose to focus
on the food labelling issue which, along with restrictive state
aid rules making it difficult for us to promote British products
to British consumers, is a central concern."
The TFA and NBA report exposes the market barriers faced by the
farming industry and highlights the urgent need for a coherent
food and farming policy designed so farmers can reconnect with
consumers and generate a healthy food culture in the UK. It reveals
the challenges faced by the food and farming industry including
recent CAP reform, supermarket dominance, lack of coherent policy,
contradictory strategies and government inaction. It highlights
the key issues preventing reconnection with the market such as
State Aid Rules, poor Country of Origin labelling and inadequate
marketing expertise. It also presents a marketing strategy outlining
the practical steps that need to be taken by Government and farmers
to create a healthy food culture in the UK.
"We have had a clear statement of support from the opposition
but we still await a response from the Government. All we have
so far are some off the cuff remarks made by a DEFRA press officer.
We are however delighted that the recommendations of the report
are supported by Sir Don Curry who has been charged by DEFRA to
set out a blueprint for reconnecting farmers and their customers.
We and the NBA will be working with him in the weeks and months
that lie ahead in the hope that he will help us deliver as many
of our recommendations as possible" said Mr Dunn.
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