Fantasy food labels

Food label claims such as 'farmhouse', 'pure' and 'traditional' are still being misleadingly used by many suppliers.

According to a study by the Food Standards Agency, such descriptions should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

Far from containing natural ingredients, many products labelled in such a way are chemical concoctions generated in industrial compounds with vast silos and production lines.

The FSA found that 40 per cent of claims cannot be believed.

The situation was particularly bad with 'farmhouse' - three out of four uses of the phrase were misleading. 'Traditional' was also being abused, with 44 per cent of such claims found to be bogus.

The term 'home-made' was wrong for 43 per cent of foods examined, while 'original' was not accurate in 40 per cent of cases.

The FSA first took the food industry to task for its bogus labels four years ago. But it appears that manufacturers have largely ignored a plea for more honesty.

Now the watchdog is urging trading standards departments to prosecute as well as naming and shaming the companies involved.

Trading standards officers from 15 councils across the country surveyed 220 foods.

The FSA said the term 'traditional' should describe a recipe or process that has existed for a significant period - perhaps 50 years.

Yet 31 products using the word contained modern ingredients, such as artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners.

Failures included Tesco traditional Irish wheaten loaf, Tesco's finest traditionally made Cumberland ring sausages, Sainsbury's taste the difference traditionally made pork & apple sausages, Safeway traditional Brussels pate with shallots, and Baxters traditional soup, Highlanders broth.

The FSA guidance for the term 'farmhouse' states this should be used only where the product has been made in a house or on a farm.

Yet with 18 of 24 samples checked, there was evidence that they were produced in industrial premises.

Failures included Waitrose country farmhouse slices, Co-Op organic farmhouse cheddar-Morrisons farmhouse pate and Mrs Darlington's traditional farmhouse pickle.

Supermarkets with in-store bakeries are mostly heating up frozen products made elsewhere.

As a result, the FSA says they should not claim to offer ' freshly baked' bread and cakes. However, this abuse still goes on.

The FSA's head of labelling and standards, Rosemary Hignett, said: 'We know that consumers often place particular value on terms such as "fresh", "pure" and "natural" when buying food. They rightly expect foods labelled with these terms to be different in some way from products that don't carry these types of descriptions.

'For instance, they don't expect items labelled "fresh" to have a four-week shelf life and they don't expect items labelled as "pure" to have added ingredients.'

The Food & Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, denied that the industry sets out to mislead shoppers