Calls to beef up meat labelling

Ministers said they were working with the EU on labelling

Scottish ministers have been urged to end confusion over "tartanised" meat labelling by a consumer watchdog.

Shoppers are being left unsure about meat quality because of the variety of labels used to indicate Scottish origin, said Consumer Focus Scotland.

Only the term "Scotch beef" has legal status as a mark of quality.

The Scottish Government said it was currently working to resolve labelling issues with EU ministers, who are responsible for such issues.

Consumer Focus Scotland said the difference between the terms "Scotch" and "Scottish" on labels was causing confusion.

Beef or lamb can only be labelled "Scotch" if the meat has been born, reared and slaughtered in Scotland and has met certain production standards.

But the term "Scottish" offered no quality guarantee and could include former dairy cows and breeding livestock, according to Consumer Focus Scotland director Martyn Evans.

"While nobody is setting out to mislead their customers intentionally, the use of many different pictures and labels associated with Scotland means that many red meat products which do not offer guarantees about their quality and origin are being mistaken for those that do," he said.

In a poll of 980 consumers commissioned by Consumer Focus Scotland, 10% correctly identified that Scotch was a guarantee of better quality meat.

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said he wanted Scottish consumers to be able to make informed choices about where their food came from, and said ministers had been working with retailers to encourage better labelling.

He added: "I appreciate there are a number of issues on country of origin labelling to be resolved and my officials are currently in dialogue with the EU and other UK administrations and continuing to investigate options for compulsory labelling.

"There are differing views amongst stakeholders and our role as government is to ensure that any measure introduced, whether voluntary or mandatory, is proportionate, reasonable and workable."