New Pork Labelling Scheme [UK]

(Lexology – Jane Hanney, Blake Lapthorn)

A new voluntary Code of Practice for the labelling of pork and pork products was introduced at the end of February.

This was developed by the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force which represents a broad range of stakeholders, including retailers, food service companies, consumers, processors, industry organisations, government and its agencies. It is intended to provide consumers with clear and unambiguous labelling regarding country of origin, pig production terms and the use of breed names.

While there are specific legal requirements for foods such as beef, veal, fish and shellfish to be labelled with information on country of origin, there is no such legislation covering pork and pork products. These foods have to comply with the Food Labelling Regulations which require that the place of origin or provenance need only be labelled if failure to do so might mislead a purchaser. This has led to a lack of clarity and ambiguities where imported pork processed in the UK is labelled as ‘Produced in the UK’ without additional details on country of origin being required. The new Code is designed to address these issues. Read more here.