Foreign food could use logo – BBC
13 June 2000
Foreign food could use logo – BBC
by FWi staff
THE BBC has reported on claims that the new logo designed to boost sales of British farm produce could be used to promote food from other countries.
The British Farm Standard logo, which denotes hygiene, welfare and environment standards, was launched on Tuesday (13 June).
It will appear initially on 100 fresh food product lines, carried by 10 major retailers at 4,800 stores across the country.
The National Farmers Union hopes that the logo, which shows a red tractor with blue wheels, will become one of Britains biggest brands.
But a dissenting voice has come from rival labelling scheme GB Choice which campaigns for clear labelling on British produce.
Farmers Weekly first reported last March that European single market legislation meant the British logo could be used on European Union produce.
Now, Jeremy Davis of GB Choice has told the BBC Radio 4 Farming Today programme that imported products could carry the tractor logo.
Consumers could end up “buying something with a logo you are told by the government and the NFU is British, and in actual fact may not be”, he said.
NFU president Ben Gill said that under competition law farm assurance schemes had always been open to anyone in the world to join.
Foreign producers could use the logo provided they can demonstrate they have applied exactly the same standards to members in the UK.
However, Mr Gill said the retailers carrying British Farm Standard lines have individually said to suppliers they only want the logo applied to British products.
Mr Gill added that plans were afoot to extend the scheme to cover produce across to retail sector from supermarkets to farm shop level.
He also hoped the mark could be extended to processed products, but only once the integrity of the supply chain could be guaranteed.
“We are so determined that we have to maintain the integrity of the scheme we are vetting everything that comes in,” said Mr Gill.