The Chilled Food Association has said carbon-footprint labelling of products is misleading and that any footprint labelling should apply to businesses, not the products they put out.

“As an active and often leading player in environmental issues closely involved in numerous sustainability initiatives, the CFA belives that product carbon footprint labelling is misguided for chilled foods and will be potentially misleading to consumers,” said CFA’s Kaarin Goodburn. “CFA favours carbon footprinting of a business which is more relevant to identifying and addressing areas for carbon reduction than product carbon footprint labelling.”

According to Goodburn, the complex nature of the chilled sector and the fact that it uses a wide range of fresh produce in its products is one of the reasons behind CFA policy. “For example, the same raw material can be soruced from different countries depending on seasonality and availability,” she said. “The calculation of the carbon density of any given chilled food therefore will be complicated, time-consuming, resource-hungry and expensive. It will also be confusing for consumers if the carbon footprint of a food changes because of sourcing changes.”

To this end, the CFA has written to the Carbon Trust, Defra and the IGD to outline its favoured streamlined approach to allow businesses the opportunity to be recognised for reducing their carbon footprint.

Separately, the CFA has welcomed the support given to its 2nd edition of Microbiological Guidance for Produce Suppliers (MGG2) from the Fresh Produce Consortium, British Leafy Salad Association, Horticultural Development Council and the National Farmers’ Union which are all now promoting the guidance to their members. A copy of MGG2 has also been sent to the British Herb Trades Association with a request that it also adopt its standards and approaches.

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