Some of Britain’s food producers are duping supermarket shoppers with fake food – hiding the real source of ingredients and using underhand tactics to confuse the buyer, a leading food expert has revealed.
Rob Ward, a UK authority on provenance and a champion of local food, lifts the lid on some of the scurrilous tricks employed by major companies in a new series of ‘Rip-off Britain’ on BBC1.
And he’s launched an honest labelling campaign – www.honestlabelling.com – in a bid to fight food forgery, urging the British public to help name and shame the worst offenders and praise those producers who get it right.
In some of the most blatant examples, manufacturers have used St George’s flags to convey Englishness even though the major ingredient is not home-reared. In another example, one of Britain’s biggest frozen food companies calls its ready-meal a ‘Great British Menu’ but the meat is not from Britain and the meal is not even made in the UK.
With consumers spending just five seconds reading each label in the supermarket, Rob said it was time to act: “For too long, consumers have been duped by manufacturers who dazzle them with all sorts of messages to get their attention – often in the hope of disguising the reality.
“My investigation has revealed a catalogue of abuses across the board. Often it is only when you look at the small print, or ring the company itself, that you realise the ingredients don’t fit the image.”
One company which sells Scottish smoked salmon was sourcing fish from Norway, while another firm was making ‘traditional’ pork pies using meat from all over the world.
Rob called for better labelling and regulation to crack down on the worst offenders, while urging customers to take more care when putting food into their trolleys.
He continued:  “If shoppers can’t identify the true origin of the main ingredients in a pack in less than five seconds then the pack needs to be redesigned. By voting for both their favourite examples and their most frustrating ones, people can influence the future shop-ability of their food.”
Rob said Britain’s thriving local food culture would suffer if nothing is done.

“Demand for locally- and regionally- sourced food is growing and manufacturers are trying to cash-in on this patriotism,” he explained. “But I think it’s time to make a stand and expose this counterfeit food.
“British consumers are increasingly placing their trust and hard-earned money in British and local food. This trust will be severely betrayed if these counterfeit foods continue to go unchallenged.”
Rob believes the Honest Labelling campaign provides a simple way for the food industry and consumers to come together to celebrate food packaging that is honest and clear to read. The new website has a special section where the good examples of food packaging (the Angels) can be compared to the bad examples (the Sinners).
The Sinners and Angels are voted by anyone that wants to make a difference. Anyone who is passionate about honest and clear labelling can become a Disciple, and hese committed believers can also become Honest Labelling leaders of the future.

As part of his campaign, Rob believes the country of origin should be clearly identified for the major ingredients on the front of any packaging. A major ingredient can be defined as part of the description, so the packaging on a pork pie should list clearly the country where the pig was born and reared.

This also applies to descriptions of products like ‘Wiltshire’ ham, or Bakewell Tart. These descriptions are legally known as custom words, or words that are used regularly enough to be part of our vocabulary and associated with a particular food. These custom words imply a certain level of quality, suggesting they are made using a particular recipe or made in a particular place. This, again, can be abused by food manufacturers, with Rob revealing that one ice-cream describing itself as from Yorkshire is actually made in South Wales with milk from that region.
Top five worst offenders:

Peter’s Premier Steak & Ale Pie
Bird’s Eye Great British Menus Roast Lamb Dinner
Tesco’s British Goose Fat Roasted Potatoes
Tesco’s Farm House Mixed Vegetables
Heinz Farmers Market Chicken & Country Vegetable Soup