‘Artisan’ food labels need protection

Food terms such as “farmhouse” and “artisan” need formal legal labels to protect a €4.1bn industry with a potential for up to 7,500 jobs, warns the Taste Council of Ireland.

An absence of such labels is putting livelihoods at risk, Taste chairman Evan Doyle said at the Food Summer School in Wicklow yesterday. Some 120 food producers, including Darina Allen of Ballymaloe House; John McKenna of the Bridgestone Food Guides; and Michael Kelly of GIY Ireland, attended.

“Consumers rely on food labels to inform their purchase decisions,” said Mr Doyle. “The terms used on a food label often describe a unique process or origin which the consumer values — such as farmhouse, artisan, local, and traditional.