A MANDATORY country of origin labelling system in Europe has been brought in to end confusion for consumers and to protect public health, say its proponents.

Last week the European Parliament voted to extend the Provision of Food Information to Consumers (PFIC) regulations to include legally binding country of origin labels on lamb, poultry, goat and pork products, but not beef.

The idea is to simplify and clarify labelling relating to origin, health and nutrition and alcohol labelling.

Under the current system, the meat label only has to say where the product was last processed and it can use the country of origin label. A report compiled by the Countryside Alliance Foundation has claimed this is regularly the case.

Their research found that nearly half of consumers looked for the country of origin on the packaging. They also found that 74 per cent of meat products they buy have a British origin.

Ninety per cent of respondents supported the idea that a British flag should only be given to meat products where the meat product has been born, reared and slaughtered in Britain. This appears to be borne out by damning figures on pork and bacon products released by Food and Farming Minister Jim Paice in a statement to the House of Commons a week ago.

These facts will be of interest to pig farmers Cameron Naughton and James Hart who were quoted in an article published in the Western Gazette of June 23, 2011, about the plight of the industry.

Mr Paice said: "Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) figures for 2010 show that a total of 406,000 tonnes of bacon was sold in the UK. Thirty-one per cent (126,000 tonnes) came from pigs, reared and processed in the UK.

"For the remaining 280,000 tonnes we are unable to differentiate whether the bacon has come from pigs bred and reared abroad and then processed in the UK, or bred, processed or reared abroad."

The public also has to understand that a combination of rising feed prices and high welfare standards will increase the cost of production and the farm gate price.

Supermarket buyers have to get real about the public health dangers of allowing the UK pig herd to fall and a dependence on pig imports they can't be certain of which will not be to the same standard of UK products.

Think of it this way, do they really want to have the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall, Anthony Worrall Thompson, Jamie Oliver or Heston Blumenthal blowing raspberries at them if they can't supply high quality meat for their kitchens? If the national pig herd was to disappear, make no mistake about it, there would be consequences for the supermarkets.

It is also worth remembering that when certain animal welfare opponents of this industry have sought to bring shame on Dorset pig farms over alleged malpractice and standards, they have failed to say whether they would investigate the conditions on their continental competitors.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Alice Barnard said: "This is a major step for our campaign and one we have worked hard for, but mandatory country of origin labels will not include foods where meat is an ingredient, such as sausages and ready meals. So it remains the case that sausages made in Britain using Danish pork can still legitimately be labelled as "British". This is clearly unacceptable and we will continue to work to change the rules."

Politicians keep lecturing everyone about the merits of eating healthy food and keeping fit. Well then, perhaps you should consider Mr Hart's suggestion of a partial subsidy for pork on the grounds of the country's self sufficiency, not the EU.

I can't force anyone reading this to buy British pork and other meat products but if labelling rules became clearer, it can only help secure the futures of hard-working businesses and keep the countryside flourishing.