By DAVID COULTER

Published at 09:44, Friday, 05 March 2010

THERE is light at the end of the tunnel for confused consumers as a new labelling code of practice has been introduced for the country of origin for pork and pork products.

Major supermarkets have endorsed a voluntary code which aims to give clear and unambiguous information about country of origin on packs of pork, bacon and ham.

The code was set up by Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force, which represents a broad range of stakeholders including retailers, food service companies, consumers, processors, industry organisations, government and its agencies.

It was launched at the latest NFU conference by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn. He said: “A year ago, I said that I wanted to end the nonsense of unclear country of origin labelling on pig meat products, and through the Task Force bringing together farmers, processors and retailers, we now have a code of practice that will do this.

“I expect all major retailers to sign up and join those who have already decided to end the confusion for shoppers.”

A list of the elements included in the country of origin code include:

l A commitment to clearly display the country of origin on retail packs.

l Where single country of origin is displayed it means that the pig was born, reared and slaughtered in that country.

l The term ‘produced in the UK’ will not be used without qualification of the origin of the pork.

l The use of national terms and symbols, such as flags, will mean that the pork comes from that country.

l Product specific terms, such as Wiltshire Cure, will mean that the pork used to make the product comes from within the UK. If not, the origin will be clearly stated.

l Imagery that could imply UK origin will only be used on UK origin product, otherwise there will be a statement of origin on the pack.

l Food service outlets will make origin information readily available to customers such as on the menu, in literature or on company websites.

l Where the term ‘local’ is used it will be clearly defined.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk