THE EUROPEAN Commission has issued a correction statement following in accurate reports of an EU plan to ban the Union Flag from British meat products.
A number of UK national newspapers reported that the EU would ban use of the widely used label stamp, denoting that a meat product was reared and packaged in the UK; a fact that the EC refutes.
Speaking about the inaccurate reports Jim McLaren, Chairman of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) said the situation was a ‘very unwelcome source of further confusion on the issue of meat labelling:
“We welcome steps to introduce clearer labelling on meat products and we await with interest the outcome of current discussion at EU level on compulsory rules for labelling of pre-packaged fresh meat, including the clearer specification of member state of origin.
“The good news is consumers are increasingly asking for more information about the meat they buy than simply country of origin and the industry in Scotland is in a strong position to answer these questions.
“The industry’s labels – Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and specially selected Pork – give guarantees that not only has the meat been reared and slaughtered in Scotland but very importantly that it has been produced under strict quality assurance standards which also cover areas such as welfare, feed and haulage.”
