Nick Herbert launches ‘Sussex Breakfast’ with call for honest food labelling
15 June 2009
At the launch of the ‘Sussex Breakfast’ scheme at the South of England Show on Thursday (11 June) Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Nick Herbert spoke out in support of local food production and called on the big supermarkets to back his campaign for ‘honest food’ labelling.
The Sussex Breakfast is being pioneered by the Sussex Tourism Partnership as an accreditation scheme to encourage local hotels, restaurants and other venues to serve Sussex produce. More than 50 local businesses have already been accredited. Nick Herbert said:
“I feel very strongly about the importance of supporting local food producers. We are letting British farmers down when it’s possible for meat to be imported into this country, receive minimal processing and then be passed off as British produce.”
“It is right that British farmers should continue to meet tough animal welfare standards, but these are completely undermined when meat is bought from countries that do not abide by the same standards and then passed off as British.”
Mr Herbert welcomed the positive stance taken by Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, but accused Tesco and Sainsbury’s of “standing in the way” of country of origin labelling, adding: “The truth is that they don’t want you to know where some of their food comes from and I think that’s wrong. Food labelled ‘British’ should be born and bred in Britain.”
The MP also said that the Government should do more to procure British food with its own budget.
Today (Monday 15 June), Mr Herbert is leading a Commons debate on the rural economy and will point out that rural areas are being hit hard by the downturn. He will say that there is untapped potential in rural areas to foster small businesses which can provide sustainable jobs growth in the future.