Which? investigation finds misleading food origin labelling at supermarkets

Where food comes from is important to most shoppers. But how much do supermarket labels really tell us – and are they being used correctly? 

Whether you want to support local farmers, limit your food’s climate footprint or ensure animal welfare, origin labelling should make choosing easier. 

And it's an issue attracting lots of attention, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling on supermarkets to showcase British food and a recently launched government consultation on clearer country-of-origin food labelling.

We mystery shopped the UK’s biggest supermarkets to look at what's happening on the shelves. Our snapshot investigation uncovered a string of issues, from completely meaningless wording and major inconsistencies to missing information and downright misleading labelling.

Missing and meaningless information

At Sainsbury’s we found loose cauliflowers, red cabbage, courgettes and onions with no visible origin labelling on the shelf or the produce itself. Similarly, peppers, melons and mangoes at Asda and spring onions at Aldi were also missing visible country of origin information. 

Our research is just a snapshot, but we believe these examples could be in breach of rules that say unprocessed fresh fruit and veg should have origin labelling.

Even when information was supplied, it was sometimes completely meaningless. Take Lidl's sausage rolls, for example, where the labels state they are produced in the UK using ‘UK and non-UK pork’, leaving shoppers none the wiser. 

Unsmoked thick-cut gammon joints at Iceland also said the origin of the pork was ‘EU and non-EU’. 

Manufacturers do this to comply with the rules for mandatory origin labelling – but it’s of little use in practice and we know shoppers aren’t fond of this approach. When we surveyed over 2,000 members of the public*, one told us: ‘I find it concerning when a food object states that it is from several different sources/countries.’ 

Some of the labelling we spotted was simply odd. Fresh chickens in Sainsbury’s were labelled as British, with some intriguing but ultimately meaningless extra information. ‘This chicken was reared by Croyle’ stated one. Another boasted it was ‘reared by Morrell’. 

As our researcher remarked: 'Whether or not these are people, companies or farms is anyone’s guess.' (Sainsbury's later told us they were the names of farms).

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Big inconsistencies 

Whole loose fruit and veg must have origin labelling, but pre-cut, packaged versions don't carry the same requirement – resulting in an unhelpful shopping experience. For example, a large pineapple in Tesco was clearly labelled from Costa Rica while the pre-cut tub of pineapple chunks a few shelves away didn’t have any hint of where the fruit was grown.

Fresh chicken was labelled well because this is required by the rules, but frozen processed chicken far less so because it’s not mandatory to do so. Birds Eye’s 44 chicken nuggets with golden wholegrain had no origin labelling at all, nor did Greggs’ frozen creamy chicken pies or Iceland’s chicken nuggets. 

The rules differ for processed foods because it can be more challenging to state the country of origin for products with multiple ingredients and more complex supply chains. But plenty of other frozen meat products did have origin labelling, showing it can sometimes be done.

There were also inconsistencies within brands. The packaging for Charlie Bighams’ moussaka contained no hint of where its meat was from, nor did its chicken and ham gratin. But its lasagne stated that it contained British beef and British pork.

These examples don’t break any rules, but they could certainly be more helpful to shoppers.

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Should you trust a Union Jack?

While it’s technically within the rules, you might be surprised to find that the pork in your Aldi bacon and cheese wrap – with a big Union Jack and ‘Made in Britain’ adorning the front of the pack – is actually from the EU.

Both Tate & Lyle and Silver Spoon granulated sugar also feature Union Jacks on their packets. But a closer look shows that, while Tate & Lyle’s pack is made in Britain, the raw cane sugar is from ‘a range of non-UK countries’. The sugar beet in the Silver Spoon pack, on the other hand, is ‘always grown here in the UK’.

Labelling rules state there must be origin information if a shopper might otherwise be misled, for example if a pizza box shows the leaning tower of Pisa but is actually made in the UK. Similarly, if the key ingredient in the food comes from somewhere different from where it was made then the label must show this – which these examples all do.

But even if manufacturers are adhering to the rules, it’s fair to say some shoppers might be misled by this practice. For example, one told us: ‘Things like the Union Jack flag symbol help, as they make it easier to spot UK produce at a distance.’ 

Others however are more sceptical. One said: ‘I don't like it when a product is labelled as “processed in Britain” or “packaged in Britain” because they are trying to get people to think it is a British product, but the ingredients might have come from anywhere.’

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Misleading labelling

And finally there was some downright misleading presentation. 

At Asda, cauliflowers from Spain had a Union Jack on the shelf price label. 

Meanwhile Aldi had cherry tomatoes from Morocco, parsley from Italy and sweet mini peppers from Spain sitting on a shelf under a large banner decorated with a Union Jack and the words ‘Championing Great British Quality’. 

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Current rules too limited

Given all this, it’s not a surprise that only half of the respondents in our survey find the current origin information presented on groceries helpful. 

And this matters. Almost three quarters of shoppers say it’s important to know where fresh meat comes from and half say it’s important to know where processed meat comes from, too.

Two thirds believe it's important to know where fresh fruit and veg comes from. And a similar proportion told us they would be more likely to buy a product labelled ‘British’ than one that wasn’t. 

Our investigation shows origin labelling needs to be improved if it’s to properly achieve its aim of helping shoppers make informed decisions.

In particular, supermarkets should make sure loose fruit and veg is better labelled and manufacturers should consider the voluntary labelling of more processed meat products.

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What did the supermarkets say?

We asked all the supermarkets and brands featured to comment on our findings. Aldi, Iceland and Tesco said they complied with all food labelling regulations. 

Aldi added: ‘At Aldi, we support more than 5,000 British suppliers. When it comes to fresh fruit and veg, we are proud to support British farmers and aim to stock British produce whenever it’s available. Customers understand that at this time of year that isn’t always possible, but we remain firmly committed to supporting the British farming community.’

Asda said: ‘We have stringent processes in place to ensure that the country of origin is clearly displayed at the shelf edge and on products themselves where applicable, at all our stores. We have reminded our colleagues at this particular store of these processes.’

Sainsbury’s said: ‘We have processes in place to make sure country of origin information is clearly displayed on the product or shelf and we carry out regular checks working closely with our regulator, the Animal and Plant Health Agency. All our chicken has the country of origin clearly marked including the Union Flag.’

Tate & Lyle Sugars said: ‘Our sugar carries a Union Jack because it is made in our London factory, and has been for nearly 150 years. We take great care to make sure the origin of our raw material is highlighted on the pack, alongside images of sugarcane.’

Birds Eye said: 'We make sure that where required, we label origin of our primary ingredients. The chicken we source comes from EU licensed suppliers including suppliers in the UK and EU.’

Charlie Bigham's, Greggs and Lidl didn’t comment.

*Results based on an online survey of 2,011 members of the public. The survey was conducted in February 2024 and the results are representative of the UK population (aged 18+).