Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made towards the introduction of sustainable food labelling in the UK.
The Government is currently undertaking significant work in this area to improve the evidence base and address current evidence gaps which will help to inform our policy priorities. For example, specific impacts of environmental labelling on consumers' purchasing behaviour are less well known, so Defra has commissioned consumer insights work to strengthen this evidence area. This will aid better understanding towards the efficacy of eco-labelling on consumer buying preferences and assist in identifying whether environmental labelling leads to more sustainable supply chains, in alignment with reducing the UK's emissions targets.
We want to empower consumers with more effective information to help them make healthier, greener, and more sustainable choices in their diet and are reviewing how food information can be improved - such as through improved labelling - so consumers can make more informed decisions while maintaining freedom of choice.
Elsewhere, we are working with the Environment Agency on its SEEBEYOND project which is looking at the standardisation of metrics in the food and drink sector.