Use of food assurance scheme guidance reviewed

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Most of the UK's main food assurance schemes are following FSA guidance aimed at ensuring better information for consumers about food standards, according to a report published today by the Agency.

The report looked at all the main UK schemes to see whether they were following the best practice guidance published by the Agency in 2003. The guidance advised greater consumer involvement in setting standards, and clear, honest consumer information about what is being delivered by each scheme. Today’s report shows that the schemes reviewed have made significant and welcome progress in adopting this guidance, but more remains to be done in future years.

Food assurance schemes are mostly voluntary arrangements managed by the food industry. Each scheme sets certain standards for food production and aims to give consumers greater confidence about the food they buy.

The schemes cover things that might be important for anyone buying a particular food product, including food safety, organic production and animal welfare issues. Members of each scheme can use a logo on their products to tell consumers that these meet the scheme's independently assessed production standards. The Red Tractor and Lion Eggs are among the schemes that may be familiar to UK consumers.