Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the public to buy British produce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government will always back British farmers who produce some of the highest quality food in the world, contribute billions to our economy, and are the custodians of our countryside. We want more people to be able to access nutritious, and locally sourced food.
Our ambition, set out in our election manifesto, is for half of all food supplied into the public sector to be from local British producers, or certified to higher environmental standards whilst being in line with World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations.
The department strongly supports retailer efforts to promote British food. Defra officials regularly engage with major supermarkets to understand their work to promote British produce.
In addition, the Government currently protects 93 British food and drink product names through its Geographical Indications schemes and welcomes further applications from British producers. Consumers can find these products with unique links to Britain’s gastronomic heritage by looking out for the black and gold ‘Protected Designation of Origin’, ‘Protected Geographical Origin,’ and ‘Traditional Specialty Guaranteed’ logos.