Assessing the uptake of FSA guidance on country of origin labelling

The Agency issued guidance on country of origin labelling in 2002. The FSA's Strategic Plan 2001-06 contains a commitment to monitor the uptake of this advice. A stakeholder meeting was held in July 2004 to help the Agency design a survey to meet this commitment. The FSA decided that the survey would aim:

• to determine the extent to which the guidance was being followed
• to inform the Food Standards Agency's approach to future discussions on EU food labelling controls
• to inform a review of the impact of the country of origin labelling guidance

The Agency commissioned Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association to carry out the survey. A total of 358 products were sampled and assessment forms devised to measure the uptake of the guidance.

Most products volunteered an explicit declaration of origin or provided one in accordance with the law. They were almost always conspicuous and easy to understand even when, as in the great majority of cases, they were given voluntarily.

Such direct statements normally referred to the country where the product has been produced or made, most commonly expressed as the 'UK'. References to specific parts of the UK, such as 'Northern Ireland' or 'Cornwall', were far less common.

The most common way that origin was implied, either intentionally or unintentionally, was in writing, but other ways such as flags, pictures, emblems, and references to assurance schemes were frequently seen. Only a small number of cases involved qualifications such as 'Italian Style'.

The Food Standards Agency's advice on interpretation of the legislation applied to relatively few products whose origin was implied. While most of these followed the advice by giving a distinct declaration of origin, a small minority provided this information in a small font on the back of the pack.

The report concludes that a review of the guidance might consider recommending:

• certain forms for explicit statements, because these take a number of forms
• clarification where a 'packed in' statement is used
• clarification for Chinese, Indian and ethnic European dishes

The Food Standards Agency's stated aims for 2001-2006 included a series of initiatives to promote best practice in labelling within the food industry. One of the stated objectives is to assess the uptake of the Agency's guidance on country of origin labelling.

In October 2002, the Food Standards Agency published guidance on country of origin labelling. The purpose of this guidance was to inform industry and enforcement of the Agency's view on country of origin labelling with the aims of identifying legislation that applies to origin labelling, providing non-statutory advice on its interpretation. The guidance also aimed to provide advice on best practice and encourage provision of extra labelling information to that required by law, all with the objective of producing better labelling for consumers.

The Agency decided to assess the extent to which their guidance was followed, and the extent to which it required revision. In July 2004 the Agency held a stakeholder meeting to assist with planning of the survey. Consequently, the Agency decided that the main focus would be whether or not origin was provided on the label. Cases would be noted where there might be confusion for the consumer over origin.

It was recognised that it was easier to provide origin information for less processed products. It was emphasised that the assessment of labels needed to be carried out in an objective manner, but that there would be no further information sought from companies to check the accuracy of the declarations of origin.