MEP’s voted 33-29 in favour for country of origin labelling to be a requirement on fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, fresh fruit, vegetables and other single-ingredient products.
They also backed an amendment to food information regulations which would require place of provenance to be displayed for meat, poultry and fish when used as an ingredient in processed foods.
The changes could mean that for meat and poultry, the country of origin or place of provenance may be given as a single place for animals only where the animals have been born, reared and slaughtered in the same country or place.
In other cases information on each of the different places of birth, rearing and slaughter should be given.
The committee's decisions were welcomed by organisations such as NFU Scotland, which has long been campaigning on the issue, as well as he Ulster Farmers Union in Northern Ireland.
The report will now go forward to for a full parliamentary vote, probably in May/June 2010.
Country of Origin 'Should be Declared'
UK - The European Parliament has taken the first steps to greatly improve food labelling rules.
