Agriculture This Week: Food labels remain contentious

What should be included on food labels tends to be a topic which can be a hotly contested one depending who one asks about it.

Certainly, it is probably safe to say a sizeable number of consumers pay scant attention to food labels.

There is an assumption – and yes some will argue the assumption is folly – that food on store shelves is safe, so reading labels is not a huge priority.

It is also a reality for many the key thing when it comes to purchasing groceries is looking at price tags to ensure what they are buying is affordable – a situation made keener as living costs such as property taxes, water bills, food costs, etc rise for many faster than wage increases to keep pace.

For others though they want as much information as possible on labels.

Ingredients of course are rather crucial.

We know, for example nut allergies can be quite severe for some, so being able to check a label to be sure there are no nuts is a must.

But, what about broader information from country of origin to whether the food is organic, produced ethically, is genetically modified, or whether the meat is lab grown.

On the surface it makes some sense to just say yes to all of the above, with some no doubt wanting to add more.

But such broad labelling soon raises some rather serious questions.

For example what exactly constitutes ‘ethically produced’.