Union calls for better labelling to boost Scottish beef sales

Improved country of origin labelling (COOL) on processed beef products is needed to help Scottish shoppers buy Scottish beef - that was the message sent yesterday by NFU Scotland to UK farm minister, Geroge Eustice.

The union claimed that giving consumers this information on processed beef products as well as on raw cuts would not only allow informed decisions to be made but would also help revive the fortunes of the country’s beef sector which it says is currently labouring under unsustainably low farmgate prices.

“Scottish beef is an industry leader in quality, animal welfare and in environmental delivery, and it is the view of NFU Scotland that the UK government should act to allow shoppers to tell through clear labelling whether or not a product contains home produced beef,” said the union’s livestock convener Jimmy Ireland.

He said that better labelling was one of the asks in the union’s six-point plan for the beef industry – and was an area which the UK government could legislate upon following the UK’S departure from the European Union.

“Although we have strong regulations on the labelling of fresh beef products there are significant weaknesses in the regulations surrounding processed beef which too easily allows for imported beef to be used without the consumer being aware,” said Ireland.

He said that clearer origin labelling should also be extended to processed lamb, pork and chicken products.