Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

DEFRA

Nobel House

17 Smith Square

London SW1P3JR

Date: 12^th March 2013

Dear Owen,

Meat labelling – farming method and country of origin labelling

I am writing to urge you to take concrete action to speed up the implementation of EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) (1169/2011). I would also like to encourage you to press for labelling that includes information about the farming methods used in each instance.

The recent meat adulteration scandal, where food products were sold containing undeclared horse and pork meat, dramatically highlights the urgent need for a Commission-backed scheme for the comprehensive labelling of all meat products. I note that you have called for this process to be accelerated and would appreciate some information about any steps DEFRA has taken to this end.

I also hope you will support mandatory country of origin labelling that is at least as comprehensive as that required of beef and beef products under Regulation 1825/2000 - application rules for Regulation 1760/2000.

I understand that the Government has proposed applying for two derogations to FIR, with a view to simplifying regulations and minimising burdens on businesses 1) to allow minced meat sold in the UK to have a higher fat and collagen content than currently permitted in other EU Member States, and, 2) to remove the requirement for loose meat products to declare the amount of meat contained therein. I am opposed to these and consider them to be at odds with the Government’s stated aim of more certainty on where our meat is coming from.

On a related point, the Commission has so far been opposed to informing consumers about how the animals that provide the meat on supermarket shelves are reared.  Consumers, now more than ever, are rightfully demanding to know much more about how as well as where their meat products were reared, taking into account human health, animal welfare, and associated environmental impacts. There are clear benefits all round to a mandatory labelling scheme that denotes method of production ie intensive, free range or a validated indoor system such as Freedom Food. I hope, therefore, that you will take a lead in working with the European Commission to ensure that a robust labelling scheme based on method-of-production, as well as country-of-origin, is established as a matter of urgency.

Given your strong public statements about better regulation of the industry, I’d also appreciate your comments on the FSA’s interest – strongly backed by the Farming Regulation Task Force Implementation Group -  in replacing publicly run meat inspections with third party accredited private inspections and reducing attendance at meat plants by Official Veterinarians. This was included in the Implementation Group’s one year progress report, published 27^th February 2013. Please would you tell me if DEFRA supports such moves and, if so, on what grounds they are compatible with moves to reduce the likelihood of another scandal such as the recent one involving horsemeat? It seems to me that these recommendations are driven more by cost cutting than a desire for successful regulation andI trust DEFRA will make clear their opposition, given the urgent need to rebuild public confidence in the meat we are sold.

Finally, I would be grateful for an update on what action DEFRA is taking to shorten supply chains in the wake of the horsemeat/pork-meat scandal.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Pavilion