THE Ulster Farmers' Union Poultry Committee has welcomed the new EU rules for poultrymeat labelling which extend the current marketing standards to poultry preparations and products.
In particular, this includes the requirement that poultry products may not be labelled as 'fresh' or 'chilled' if they have previously been frozen.
Speaking after the decision taken at the recent EU Agriculture Council meeting, UFU poultry Committee
Chairman John McLenaghan said: "The UFU has consistently lobbied for accurate labelling of poultrymeat and argued that poultrymeat that has been frozen and subsequently thawed out should not be described as 'fresh'. Although not yet agreed, we have also called for a compulsory label of origin of the meat to let consumers make a properly informed choice.
"We are delighted with the recent amendment to the poultrymeat marketing standards. In view of the fact that poultrymeat is being consumed increasingly in the form of meat preparations and products, it is vital that the scope of the marketing standards for poultrymeat is extended.
"Until this decision, EU legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs permitted the labelling of frozen and subsequently thawed-out poultry products as 'fresh'. This only misleads consumers."
He added: "The revised legislation on new marketing standards, which will apply from 1 May 2010, will give more confidence to consumers in their purchases by ensuring that the information provided on poultrymeat labels is more accurate so that they aren't misled."
