The Food Standards Agency has launched a consultation on food origin labelling which aims to tighten up the rules.
While the FSA is mainly targeting food manufacturers and retailers with the updated Country of Origin Guidance, it is also proposing that in pubs and other catering establishments the wording of any origin information on menus should be "clear and unambiguous".
There is no legal requirement for pubs or restaurants to specify where food on the menu comes from.
However, with provenance becoming increasingly important to consumers, there has been criticism that customers are often misled, whether intentionally or not.
For example, the term 'Aberdeen Angus' simply refers to a breed of cattle, and meat may come from South America or Africa. However, critics have argued consumers may assume the beef was reared in Scotland.
The Scottish Executive is currently considering the responses to a consultation on its proposals to make origin labelling for beef compulsory in the foodservice sector.
The Meat and Livestock Commission has campaigned for similar rules to be introduced throughout the UK through its Menu Transparency Campaign.
The FSA said the aim of tightening up the guidance was:
- to improve labelling practice with respect to origin labelling and compliance with country of origin and misleading labelling legislation, in the manufacturing, retail and the catering sectors
- to improve consumer confidence in such labelling
- to provide enforcement authorities with guidance to help them improve labelling advice
If the proposed new rules were implemented, it would ultimately be a matter for the courts to rule whether a particular phrase or description was misleading.
The consultation runs until December 13. To read the full proposals and consultation document, go to the FSA website via the link on the right.