Green labels to show foods’ eco-credentials

Isabel Oakeshott and Sarah Ewart

FOOD could soon be labelled to indicate whether it is environmentally friendly under plans being considered by the government.
Ministers are examining whether products ought to have symbols showing green credentials, as well as “traffic light” labels indicating how healthy the item is.
The scheme would help shoppers to decide whether to buy products, such as exotic fruits flown in from Asia or endangered fish.
Campaigners say many consumers want to use their buying power to encourage supermarkets to supply more environmentally friendly food but are confused about which products to choose.
Jim Fitzpatrick, the environment minister, said: “There is clear evidence that people care about this and want to make the right choices. Labelling is very important in this. One option would be to give shoppers more information on the packaging.”
The labelling system would take account of factors such as how far food has travelled “from farm to fork”, how it is packaged, whether chemicals and other pollutants were involved in making it and also animal welfare.
However, there are concerns that it could prove too difficult to measure so many elements to produce a single red, yellow or green label.
“This is a balancing act,” said Fitzpatrick. “The labelling has to be as simple and useful as possible for the consumer and not create extra packaging or cost the producer an arm and a leg.
“Whether something is environmentally friendly or not is complex. New Zealand lamb that has travelled halfway around the world to get here may not actually be as damaging as something produced in Britain using loads of chemicals and fertilisers.”
The labelling scheme, which will be unveiled tomorrow, will be considered as part of a wider public consultation on how Britain should protect and promote its own food supplies over the next two decades.
More than 20 “kitemark” schemes are in use in the UK, usually in the form of logos stamped on packaging, and more than 78,000 food producers are involved.
The schemes include Freedom Food, the RSPCA’s animal welfare label; Farm Assured British Beef & Lamb; and the red lion quality mark which is stamped on eggs.
There is already a system being developed to show the scale of carbon emissions linked to the production of certain foods.
Retailers fear consumers may become overwhelmed by information on packaging and warn that a simple labelling system showing environmental credentials could be unworkable.
Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Labelling isn’t a magic bullet for these sorts of objectives. There is already a mass of information on products and a lot of competing demands for more. There is a danger of actually confusing people rather than helping them make choices.”
Tomorrow’s report on the future of our food production comes amid fears that changing weather patterns and shifting world populations could have a dramatic effect on Britain’s food supply.