A council from Wales has committed to continue prosecuting producers that do not label their food correctly in an effort to increase consumer confidence in their food choices after two cases hit the news that involved eggs.
The Carmarthenshire council has issued a warning to all food producers after prosecutions progressed regarding eggs that were branded ‘laid in Wales’ and ‘free range’ incorrectly.
In the light of the new court cases, leaders in the farming industry have asked that the new Government contain a supermarket ombudsman that will be able to enforce the Code of Practice of labelling according to Grocery Suppliers.
Businesswoman Linda Cavill from Llanelli was fined this past March for selling eggs as ‘free range’ that was actually battery produced. She pleaded guilty in court to two offences against the Eggs and Chicks Regulation of 2009, and to another offence that was against the Food Safety Act 1990. Also, during this month a firm from Carmarthenshire was fined for labelling eggs as ‘laid in Wales’ that were English produced.
Lampeter Eggs pled guilty to three accusations that they did not correctly label food since they stated eggs came from Wales which in fact did not, which is against the Food Safety Act. The company told the court that they were mislabelled in order to complete a contract for Welsh eggs.
Officials feel that the cases show a much larger problem in which there has been a large demand for organic, local, and free range products that companies have matched by mislabelling items instead of actually meeting the demand due to costs.
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