§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if the red tractor symbol meets his Department's requirements in respect of country of origin food labelling. [155471]
§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 26 March 2001]: The "British Farm Standard", denoted by the red tractor symbol, is a voluntary scheme developed by the National Farmers' Union. The presence of the red tractor symbol on a food product indicates compliance with specific farm assurance schemes Under European competition rules, use of indications like the red tractor symbol (and other similar indications), which are indications of quality, not origin, cannot be restricted to national produce.