Why clear and consistent food labelling really matters - for customers and producers alike
Ambiguity and confusing branding put fairness at risk and cause consumers to lose confidence in products
Every so often, a news story offers a timely reminder of just how important clear, consistent food labelling is for consumers and producers alike.
Recent coverage around plant-based brands using established dairy terminology has done exactly that. While the legal specifics have captured headlines, what matters most for the wider food system is the principle behind it: labels only work when they mean something.
When labelling becomes blurred or inconsistent, consumers lose confidence and responsible producers lose out. Clear definitions are not about restricting innovation; they are about ensuring fairness.
Businesses should compete on quality and value, not on ambiguity or branding that risks confusing shoppers about what they are buying.
This is the central argument of our recently launched Fair Labels, Fair Markets paper, which sets out our eight key asks to improve the consistency and clarity of food labelling.
The recent Supreme Court Ruling has reaffirmed the existing protections for the dairy sector underlining the importance of clear definitions, well established terminology, and a regulatory framework that prevents ambiguity.
Other sectors, such as pork, do not have this clarity, creating an often confusing landscape, with inconsistent labelling rules that fail to ensure fairness, transparency or consumer trust across the full range of food products.
We want to ensure that when consumers pick up a product, they know exactly what and who they are supporting.
Consumers need clarity, our members need confidence that the terms associated with their products are not undermined. And the wider food economy needs rules that are applied consistently and fairly.
Labelling is a complex and vast area; however it is well documented that there is an appetite to improve country of origin labelling and ultimately improve the connection we have with our food and the people who produce it.
Our research highlights over 80 per cent of consumers say the origin of their food is important to them, yet fewer than half feel they can find that information easily.
Making food shopping simpler
That disconnect should concern policymakers and markets alike.
In our Fair Labels, Fair Markets paper, we set out clear, practical steps to make food shopping simpler and more honest. We’re calling for clearer, fairer labelling wherever food is sold - not just in supermarkets, but also in restaurants and wholesale.
That means requiring clear country-of-origin information across the board, closing loopholes so processed meat must still declare its true origin, and ensuring this information is easy to see - not buried in small print.
Vague terms like “mixed origin” should be removed, and imported products should not be allowed to use Scottish flags or other national symbols in ways that mislead shoppers.
Marketing should reflect real farmers and growers, not invented farm names designed to imply provenance that does not exist.
Finally, these rules only work if they’re enforced properly, with tougher checks and transparent reporting to rebuild trust and guarantee a fair deal for both consumers and producers.
This is in addition to extending the protections for traditional product names, as seen in this week’s UK Supreme Court ruling, to other commodity areas where similar ambiguity currently exists.
Clear labels lead to fair markets. And fair markets are fundamental to securing a profitable and sustainable future for Scottish agriculture. It’s time to apply that principle across the board.
John Davidson is Chief Executive Officer of NFU Scotland
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