Environmental Leader

The UK may implement a food labeling scheme that details elements such as the number of miles from the source to the UK – a.k.a. food miles -  as well as the amount and type of chemicals used on the product.

This is but one possibility as the government considers the ramifications of the Food Matters report.

DEFRA, the UK’s food agency, is gathering feedback from the public, industry and retailers about how to proceed.

DEFRA Junior Secretary Jim Fitzpatrick said the labelling must be easily understandable for consumers, and at the same time should not create extra packaging or unrealistic costs for producers, reports FarmersWeeklyInteractiveUK.

Retailers reportedly are worried that any such labeling system would overwhelm consumers. Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium said there is plenty of existing information on products. “There is a danger of actually confusing people rather than helping them make choices,” he said.

Other critics say that the labeling must focus not only on domestically produced foods, but also imports.

The future labeling strategy likely will be unveiled later this year, reports MarketingWeek.

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