Supermarkets agree to reveal the REAL origins of their pork products

By Sean Poulter for the Daily Mail
Updated: 11:52 EDT, 23 February 2010

Under the voluntary code, UK national flags on the packaging of pork products will only be used if it comes from that country

Supermarkets and restaurant chains have pledged to end the scam of dressing up foreign meat in sausages, pies and ready meals as British.

At the same time food giants are promising to offer more clear information on how pigs used to make pork, ham and bacon are reared.

Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Whitbread have joined a number of other leading chains, including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, Morrisons and Waitrose in promising more honest labels.

Labelling laws currently allow products containing pork, chicken, beef and lamb that is reared overseas to be labelled as British, providing it is processed in this country.

As a result, famous British products such as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Lincolnshire sausages have, in the past, been made with foreign pork from Ireland or the Continent.

At the same time, research by the Conservatives found that a Birdseye 'Great British Menu' range, including roast beef and chicken, used imported meat.

They also highlighted that while Sainsbury's 'Roast Chicken Slices' were said to be 'produced in the UK', the small print admitted that some were made from Brazilian birds.

Under the voluntary code, consumers will be able to tell more easily where the meat they are buying has come from.

Companies have agreed to display country of origin clearly on the pack, and if they describe the product as 'produced in the UK', they will also have to put where the meat originated.

Under the code, flags on the packaging such as the Union flag, or Welsh flag, will only be used if the pork comes from that country.

At the same time, the use of specific terms such as Wiltshire Cure will mean the meat used to make the product comes from the UK.

Traditional British products will be made from UK pork unless it clearly states on the label which other country the meat comes from.

Former England cricketer Phil Tufnell promotes British Sausage Week. All the major supermarkets have agreed to clearly label pork products which has come from the UK or abroad

The use of imagery which suggests the food is from the UK - for example, English village scenes on packaging - will only be used if the meat is British.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, who announced the code at the National Farmers' Union conference in Birmingham, said the voluntary agreement had been reached through a task force of consumers, retailers, the Government, farmers and processors.

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

'If they don't, their customers should ask them why they're not in favour of clear, honest labelling,' he said.

Under the code, restaurants will make the country of origin information available to customers on menus, in leaflets or on company websites.

Stewart Houston, chairman of pig industry body BPEX and the National Pig Association, said clear labelling 'is great news for everyone in the supply chain', providing an easier choice for consumers, more sales of British pork for the retailer, and benefiting both the producer and the processor.

British producers, supported by TV chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver, insist that welfare standards in this country are higher than those in Europe and beyond.

The code also offers new standard definitions of 'free range', 'outdoor bred' and 'outdoor reared' in relation to the rearing of pigs.

Many people may believe that outdoor bred means a pig has been reared in a natural outdoor environment. In reality, these piglets spend only three or four weeks outside before going inside on intensive farms.