Supermarkets’ Made in Britain labels ‘mislead shoppers’
SEVERAL supermarkets are misleading customers with “Made in Britain” labels, an investigation by Which? found.
The consumer champion found “misleading, inconsistent and meaningless” origin labelling on foods in some of the UK’S most popular grocery stores, which it said could leave shoppers struggling to understand where their food actually comes from.
One supermarket was found to display Union flags and “Made in Britain” on its packaging for food made with meat from the European Union, while another displayed Spanish cauliflowers with a Union flag on the shelf label.
Which? said it would share its findings with the the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It warned that shops needed to make sure customers were armed with information to make “informed choices”.
In Aldi, the supermarket’s Crestwood bacon and cheese wraps had Union flags and “Made in Britain” on the front of the pack, despite the label on the back stating they were made with pork from the EU. The same was found with the budget supermarket’s steak and gravy pie.
Other products contained “meaningless” information, which was found to give little insight into where the food was produced. A pack of sausage rolls from Lidl stated they were made using “UK and non-uk pork”, while the label on gammon joints from Iceland had the pork as “EU and non-eu origin”.
There was also evidence of misleading signage and shelf labels. At an Aldi store, tomatoes from Morocco, parsley from Italy and sweet mini peppers from Spain sat on a shelf under a banner decorated with a Union flag and the words “Championing Great British Quality”.
In an Asda store, Which? found cauliflowers that had a Union flag on the shelf label but were from Spain.
Researchers found loose red cabbage, courgettes and onions at Sainsbury’s, peppers, melons and mangoes at Asda and spring onions at Aldi with no origin labelling on the shelf edge or the products themselves.
Labelling rules require meat, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, honey and wine to include a country or place of origin. Processed foods assembled in the UK can be labelled as Made in Britain if the constituents are from elsewhere.
An Aldi spokesman said it aimed to stock British produce “whenever it’s available”. Spokesmen for Asda and Sainsburys said their processes ensure country-of-origin information is clearly displayed. A spokesman for Iceland said it followed offical guidance on labelling.