Shoppers still being misled by food labels, says FSA

Shoppers are still being misled by the use of terms such as ‘fresh’, 'natural', ‘farmhouse’ and ‘traditional’ on some food labels, according to a nationwide survey carried out for the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The agency found that the labelling on almost half of the samples taken during the survey (40%) were considered to be misleading or ambiguous.

A total of 220 foods were examined and the results show some continuing problems with the use of all eight terms.

The two descriptive terms where misuse was most widespread were ‘farmhouse’ and ‘traditional’.

The guidance for the term ‘farmhouse’ states that this should only be used where the product has been made in a house on a farm, or more specifically in the main dwelling of the farmer himself. Of the food samples examined, 24 used the ‘farmhouse’ term but in 18 of the cases (75%) there was clear evidence, or indications, that they were actually produced in industrial premises.

The word ‘traditional’ was also widely used on the labels of the foods sampled. Of the 75 in this category more than one third (33 samples) didn’t follow the guidance. Of the samples that called themselves ‘traditional’, 31 used modern ingredients such as artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners, which the public analysts did not consider would have been part of the original recipe.

In July 2002, the agency issued advice on the use of eight marketing terms currently used on food labels in the UK: ‘fresh’; ‘pure’; ‘natural’; ‘traditional’; ‘original’; ‘authentic’; ‘home made’ and ‘farmhouse’. This guidance described when and how these terms should be used to ensure that consumers are not misled.

To check the extent to which the guidance is currently being followed, last summer the agency enlisted the help of enforcement officers from 15 local authorities across the UK.

They were asked to begin collecting from their areas food samples that used one or more of the terms, and to establish whether the labelling used on the products followed the agency's guidance. The findings were later assessed by a number of public analysts.

(gmcg)