Cheddar-loving Shoppers Misled About Origin

Despite the public saying they want to purchase British, the British Cheese Board found that nearly half of the UK’s 12 major supermarkets don’t always reveal where their value Cheddar comes from, so consumers could be mistakenly buying imported cheese, thinking it is British.

The British Cheese Board is highlighting this issue, alongside chef Gary Rhodes, to encourage the UK’s cheese lovers to look closely at the labelling on their cheese so that they know exactly where it comes from. If it doesn’t say that it has been produced in the UK then the odds are that it was not; and the words “packed in the UK” do not mean that it was made here.

Cheese lovers can support the British Cheese Board’s campaign and show their support for better labelling of cheese products by becoming a fan of British Cheese on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/britishcheese.

The top reasons the British public gave for wanting to know the origin of their dairy products were: wanting to buy British (53%); being able to judge the quality (37%) and just being interested (17%). One fifth of British adults said knowing their dairy products are British is not enough, and would like to know which county or region it comes from.

Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board said: “98% of British households buy cheese, much of it Cheddar, and we would like them to be able to tell where the cheese has been made. That way they can choose to buy British Cheddar if they want to, by checking the label.

“Our Cheddar is the best in the world, but contrary to popular belief, Cheddar is not always made in Britain, even though it was invented here. In actual fact, much of the Cheddar in our supermarkets is imported, and currently this does not have to be disclosed on the packaging,” he said.