Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether issues associated with the potential merits of introducing information about methods of slaughter on food labelling have been raised in her discussions with the [i] British Meat Processors Association, [ii] the International Meat Trade Association, [iii] the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, and [iv] the British Poultry Council.

Defra engages regularly with all relevant stakeholders in the farming and food industry on a range of topical matters, including food labelling. Defra also engages regularly with other interested stakeholders, such as animal welfare NGOs, on matters relating to farm animal welfare.

As set out in the recently published animal welfare strategy, the Government is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, the Government will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved food labelling more generally could provide greater consumer transparency and promote better animal welfare.