Pretty much everyone in farming wants to see more honesty in food labelling. But how far are we prepared to go? In fact, are we really after honesty - or do we just want labels that help us sell more British food? The reason I ask such a controversial questions is that I have just discovered this story. As part of Hugh Fearnley-W's 'chicken out' campaign there was a competition asking people to design an 'honest label' for intensively reared chicken. Supporters were asked to design a label they think Tesco should be using in order not to mislead its customers.

The winning label designed by Debbie Cripps from Moulton, Lincolnshire, is interesting in that it is very factual (unlike some of the other entries which aren't very objective). If honesty in food labelling is the way we are going, then as an industry shouldn't we be happy to see this sort of label? It's an interesting thought, isn't it?

http://www.chickenout.tv/label-competition-entries.html

It reminds me of the debate by free range farmers over free range egg farms and whether there should be an upper maximum size as there is a fear that very large units (tens of thousands of birds) could damage the image of free range eggs. it was around the time of Glenrath Farms planning submission for the world's largest free range egg farm.  

It gets more complicated when you ask consumers for their view as they picture free range as a few hens in a farm yard and are horrified at the thought of 2000 birds in a flock (and that is at the smaller end of commercial with many flock lrger than this).

 So what I am try to say is that I am for clear, honest labelling but for it to work, it would have to apply to all poultry products, including imports. Many birds reared in east Europe are stocked at even higher stocking rates. 

 The biggest challenge with labelling is how do you get across something that can be quite complicated, such as the different production systems in a easy to understand way. I am certainly against packaging that shows fields and trees for a product reared indoors.

I've just read a piece in today's Eastern Daily press regarding the Tories ongoing campaign to get food labelling rules changed. It Highlights Richard Bacon MP's 10 minute rule bill in the Commons where he tried to amend the food labelling regulations to force retailers to list more accurate information on meat products.

The article lists the five worst offenders identified by the Tory party and 4 of them are poultry!

Examples include a tesco chicken dinner for children stating on the packaging that it was "produced in the UK" when in fact the chicken had been reared in Thailand. The other examples were similar, but using poultry reared in south America.

This is blatently misleading consumers into thinking that they are supporting british poultry growers by buying products with a Union Jack on them.

i think its high time these conditons were banned- prisoners have a better life than those chickens. i had the thought the other day of doing something similar to that of cigarette packets- whereby the birds sold in that brand were photographed in there live conditon, and then put on display, next to the brand name, stating what goes into the birds to get them this way. drastic, i know, but i am sick of not knowing wether the animal i just bought was treated with respect. it also concerns me about that very fact- the british logo does not mean to say it is british. more warning needs to be given to consumers (while at it, they could do away with danidh bcaon!! urgh!