Government eyes up food eco-labelling

Concerns about whether eco-labelling of food and drink should take account of the social benefits of products to third-world producers are likely to feature in research being commissioned by environment secretary David Miliband.

The study will form part of plans to develop green standards under the government's sustainable consumption and production agenda.

This month, the Carbon Trust launched a carbon reduction label which will appear on Walkers crisps and Innocent smoothies for a trial period. It followed Tesco's decision to put carbon footprint labelling on all of its products and Marks & Spencer's move to label goods that have been air-freighted.

"If you are talking about sustainability, it is very difficult to ignore social, environmental or economic [issues]," said Callton Young, director for sustainability and competitiveness at the Food and Drink Federation. Which of those took priority was likely to be determined by consumer research, he said. It came down to a question of whether, for example, the cost of transporting Kenyan beans to UK supermarkets outweighed the benefit to Kenyan farmers.

The European Commission is also looking at sustainable consumption and production and is expected to publish a report on eco-labelling towards the end of this year.

Companies using the new Carbon Trust carbon reduction label will have to complete a rigorous carbon analysis of their supply chains and agree to a 'reduce it or lose it' clause.

Under this, if they fail to reduce the carbon footprint of the product over two years, they will forfeit the right to use the label.

Neil Campbell, chief executive of Walkers, said: "Raising awareness of carbon issues is the right thing to do. Walkers Crisps has already reduced its energy use per pack by a third since 2000."