Survey: Europeans want food origin labeling

The origin is one of the key criteria for consumers when buying food. These are the results of a survey on origin labelling presented today in Brussels by The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). Conducted in Sweden, France, Poland and Austria, the representative survey polled consumers about their expectations for origin labelling on food.
Confirming EU-wide Eurobarometer data and BEUC member research, on average 70% of respondents say the origin to be an important factor when buying food. The survey findings also reveal that a clear majority of shoppers want to know the specific country their food comes from. Only about 10% of people polled indicated to prefer the indication EU or non-EU. 6 out of 10 respondents want to know both the country where a processed food’s primary ingredient was farmed or harvested and the country where the food itself was manufactured. Such demands would prevent practices like labelling sausages as “British” when the pork comes from Denmark (News article BEUC, 24 January 2013).