• Compassion is encouraged by the consultation launched by Defra today (12th March) to increase transparency around country of origin and method of production labelling, so that consumers can make more informed choices when purchasing meat.
• The consultation proposes a mandatory method of production label, differentiating between products that fall below, meet and exceed relevant baseline UK animal welfare regulations for pork, chicken and egg products.
• Compassion welcomes the Government taking meaningful action and put an end to labelling confusion and creating transparency for British consumers by highlighting different animal welfare standards.

James West, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Compassion in World Farming UK, said:

“We welcome the consultation on food labelling, which at last gives the prospect of including information on the animal welfare standards of meat items produced within the UK.

“It is essential that consumers are given greater clarity on how their meat is produced, and we hope the mandatory labelling of method of production that this consultation could introduce for pork, chicken, and potentially fish, will be a first step towards this.

“We hope that there will be all-party backing for rapid progress towards the introduction of mandatory animal welfare labelling in order to help direct consumers to higher welfare products, whether British or otherwise, that go above the legal minimum standard, and to support higher-welfare British farmers that are producing them.”

For further information or to book an interview, contact Compassion in World Farming’s Media Team: 01483 521 615 or media.team@ciwf.org

ends

Notes to editors:

1. Compassion in World Farming is the world’s leading farm animal welfare organisation dedicated to ending factory farming and achieving humane and sustainable food.