A new survey looking at food labelling has found that the majority of people felt ‘misled’ after finding out that a sign commonly found on their products doesn’t mean what they thought.
Research commissioned by British Lion eggs found that many Brits believe the presence of a Union Jack on packaging means that the product has been made using 100% British ingredients. However, they were unaware that manufacturers are still allowed to include the flag on their packaging if the ingredients come from overseas, as long as the product itself has been made in the UK.
Of the 2,000 people surveyed, a majority of 63% admitted to feeling misled by supermarkets over this information, WalesOnline reports . A further 42% said that they felt ‘misinformed’, and some shoppers also admitted to feeling ‘annoyed’ (28%) and ‘shocked’ (21%).
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Over a third of people polled via OnePoll said that they had previously bought groceries bearing the Union Jack because they believed they were supporting British farmers in doing so. More than a quarter of those surveyed also said that the flag had persuaded them to purchase a product in the belief that it was locally sourced or of better quality.
68% of shoppers said that they don’t think food packaging makes it clear enough where ingredients are sourced, while 43% lack confidence in knowing where the products in their shopping basket originated. Half of those polled said that they would be happy to pay more for food products made with British ingredients, with the most common reasons for this preference being that it generates fewer food miles and reduces their carbon footprint.
Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “It’s clear from the research that the British public are confused about what the Union Jack symbol on food products means. Unfortunately, it can appear misleading to learn that not all products with the flag include 100 per cent British ingredients.
“It’s likely people buy these items to support the local economy, and farmers as well, believing they generate fewer food miles. The poll shows more needs to be done about educating shoppers on what food labels mean and to encourage food brands to use all British ingredients when so many of them are readily available here.”
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