Supermarkets have been told by ministers to stop selling processed food containing cheaper foreign meat with labels suggesting it is British. The Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, said retailers were undermining the Government's drive to persuade shoppers to buy British and putting at risk the Government's policies on food security and animal welfare.

A labelling loophole allows grocery chains to mark products as "Produced in the UK" if the last significant change to it took place in Britain, even if the main ingredient comes from abroad.

As such, they can legally label chicken sandwiches as "Produced in the UK", even if the chicken has come from intensive poultry sheds in Thailand, because they have placed the chicken between bread and, similarly, sell ready meals containing cheap foreign pork.

In a selection of "Produced in the UK" goods on sale yesterday, Tesco was selling chicken sandwiches with imported poultry, Somerfield "Wiltshire cured bacon" from Denmark, and Asda Cornish pasties with beef from Ireland.

In an interview with The Independent, Mr Benn said that Britain was lobbying for new European laws that would outlaw the practice – which he described as "hard to justify".

The Independent 30/1/09