Do supermarkets back British food

A.� Efforts to restore consumer confidence among shoppers has led to a concerted drive to improve the quality and accountability of British food. As a result most supermarkets sell British meat and clearly label the meat as British. A survey by the BBC Good Food Guide shows that supermarkets are endeavouring to sell UK meat.

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Q.� What percentage of the meat sold is from animals born and reared on a British farm

A.� Tesco says 90 per of all lamb sold comes from the UK ( the remainder comes from New Zealand). Tesco also says 97 per cent of beef and 100 per cent of pork comes from Britain.

Sainsbury's says 100 per cent of its lamb is British, 95 per cent of beef, 100 per cent of pork and 100 per cent of chicken comes from the UK.

Safeway says 95 per cent of all sold is British.

Asda says 80 per cent of meat is British,�and adds some New Zealand lamb is imported.

The C0-OP says 100 per cent of all meat is British, as does Marks & Spencer.

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Q.� Do supermarkets always state the origin of the meat on the label

A.� All the leading supermarkets clearly state the origins.

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Q. Why does it matter where meat comes from

A.� The Food Standards Agency says that beef products such as sausages and pies might have a slightly increased risk of BSE if the meat is from a non-EU country. Animal welfare is likely to be better in the UK, and restoring confidence in the British meat market will improve the country's farming practices and safeguard its future. From 2002, new EU regulations will ensure that all beef is labelled with the country of origin. Labelling of processed beef products may begin in 2003, but there are no plans to improve labelling of meats other than beef.

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by Katharine MacColl