An online survey conducted by YouGov and commissioned by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), has revealed that 81% of UK adults think that online food retailers should provide the same amount of information about the product’s country of origin online as on the food packaging in store.
The research was carried out between 12th and 18th April on 2,246 adults and also found that 64% of them would find it helpful to have the option to view only British produce when shopping online.
Asked about the country of origin labelling on unprocessed meat and eggs, the majority of respondents, at 57% and 66% respectively, found it to be clear, but noted that it was less clear for processed products.
In addition, 64% of the people surveyed said they ‘Always’ or ‘Occasionally’ look out for British produce while shopping, at 24% and 40% respectively.
Finally, knowing the origin of milk in food products containing it, was considered important by half of the respondents, at 56% for cheese, 55% for butter and 53% for infant formula.
NFU’s president, Meurig Raymond commented that NFU believes the same information that is available to shoppers in store should be available online, highlighting that the union has called for a “clear and honest country of origin labelling system in its manifesto for the General Election.”
He added: “We also believe that it is good practice for retailers selling online to identify British products on the listing page with a British flag, which makes British products easily identifiable.
“A British ‘filter button’ would give online shoppers the ability to easily choose British products.”
Raymond also noted that NFU is “willing to work with everyone throughout the food supply chain to ensure that customers are given clear and unambiguous information about where their food comes from.
"Looking out for the Red Tractor logo is the easiest way to find food from British farms.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
