Consumers want clear ‘country of origin’ label

Just one in 10 shoppers believe the country of origin labelling in Irish shops and supermarkets is clear.

Wed, 19 Nov, 2014 - 00:00

Conall Ó Fá;tharta

According to a survey carried out by Love Irish Food, a total of 95% of consumers here like to see “country of origin” labelling on all grocery food and drink produce sold here, with just 11% stating they felt such labelling was currently sufficiently clear.

Apart from a minority of food products such as beef and fish, there is no legislative requirement to show country of origin on made/processed grocery food products, unless its absence might mislead consumers as to the true origin of the product.

According to Love Irish Food, the result of this lack of regulation around labelling is that Irish shoppers are confronted by “misdirected information” in the food that they purchase.

The group pointed out that brands that sound like they are produced in Ireland because they use Irish family names, or old Irish brands that were once produced here but are now imported, are causing confusion to Irish shoppers, who want to know where these products are produced.

Lyons Tea, Cully & Sully soups, and HB Ice Cream are just some examples of products that some people believe are Irish-made.

Love Irish Food said that by using Irish business addresses on such packs, shoppers may think that the brands are produced in Ireland, when they are actually made abroad.

The research found the vast majority of consumers want to buy Irish produce, with 87% admitting they try to buy Irish and 74% stating they make a deliberate effort to buy products labelled “Love Irish Food”.

The executive director of Love Irish Food, Kieran Rumley, said that “made at an Irish, or even English, French or Polish, address would give shoppers the information that they need to decide if they want to continue buying from that source”.

The economist and chairman of Love Irish Food, Jim Power, said the survey confirmed that the Love Irish Food logo on produce was having a positive impact and was encouraging people to buy Irish.

“The bottom line is that this is an industry with serious potential,” he said.

“The key to unlocking that potential is to support small indigenous producers so that they can continue to create new products and become strong local and global brands. The success of Love Irish Food member companies such as Glanbia, Britvic, Barry’s Tea, and Cadbury shows how important the Irish food brand is.”

Full Irish?

Just some of the brands you may have thought were Irish:

Siúcra — It is actually German-owned and produced.

Lyons Tea — owned by the Unilever group and manufactured entirely in Britain.

Cully and Sully Meals — which is now US-owned and produced in Britain.

HB Ice Cream — owned by the Unilever group.

Jacob’s Biscuits — although owned by Valeo Foods, which is headquartered in Dublin, manufacturing for the product is now in Britain.

Other products not commonly believed to be Irish are just that:

Robert Roberts’ tea and coffee — has been produced entirely in Ireland for well over a century.

Other products produced entirely in Ireland include:

- Avonmore Fresh Soup

- Goodfella’s Pizza