There is no real Willow Farm
Product descriptions regularly use words evoking pastoral images such as “natural”, “fresh”, “pure” and “real”. But these terms are unregulated, unlike certified categories such as “free range” or “organic”. And products labelled as “reduced fat” often contain high levels of fat and added sugar to bolster flavour. What’s more, sugar can be labelled as fructose, maltodextrine or corn syrup. Marks & Spencer and Tesco lead the way in audacious food marketing, with their idyllic sounding names for chicken. Tesco’s “Willow Farm” range is sourced from 42 farms across the south-west of England and Northern Ireland rather than one farm with an abundance of willow trees. And M&S’s “Oakham” farm produce comes from farms as far apart as Northern Ireland and the Suffolk coast – none originates in Oakham.
Labellers are at war
in the food industry over the “traffic light” system versus “guideline daily amounts” (GDAs). The traffic light label shows the proportions of fat, saturated fats, sugar and salt; red for high, amber for medium and green for low. Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, Co‑operative and Marks & Spencer use this system. But Tesco, Morrisons and Somerfield have chosen GDAs. These labels show percentages of guideline daily amounts of sugar, salt, fat and calories in each serving. GDA supporters say the traffic light system is patronising and blacklists products such as cheese, which are high in saturated fat but have other nutritional benefits. The British Medical Association, the Food Standards Agency and The Diabetic Association support the traffic light system. In 2010 Euro MPs voted to adopt GDA labels in the EU, but traffic light labels are still permitted.
to magazine
