Back in May, The Grocer magazine posed the question as to whether it was right to show the Union Flag on food packaging, or had it brought it into disrepute? Should the practice be discontinued?
Naturally, the question brought comments on both sides of the argument.
At “Laid in Britain”, we can say, with some justification, that when we launched, over 20 years ago, we incorporated the Union Flag in the background of our logo and it was done in a discreet and attractive way. It has received numerous positive comments ever since.
At the time, it was one of only a very few products to show the flag.
Following Brexit, there has been a rash of Union Flags appearing in all sorts of guises on food packaging.
I have seen a 12-pack of eggs with the flag taking up a quarter of the top of the box and looking quite bizarre.
Perhaps the worst ‘offender’ is Morrisons Free-range eggs, where the whole of the top of the pack is covered by a garish Union Flag.
It is even open to abuse. Take for instance, the fact that Morrisons claimed British origin for their Spanish onions and other produce, before they were reported.
“Laid in Britain” has always been a leader, or early adopter.
Use of competitive exclusion product, a feature of our food safety aims, was included in our Code of Practice from the beginning, and has helped to keep “Laid in Britain” as the only assurance scheme not to have had a Salmonella-contaminated egg traced back to it.
We also had individual farms output tested, and labelled, for DNA, in order to prevent any forgery or misinformation of our eggs.
This was also a method early in it’s use in the food industry.
We are always seeking ways to inform our customers of the value and safety of “Laid in Britain” eggs.
We believe the Union Flag is being overdone now, and, in many cases, quite garishly and inappropriately.
Our own use will, of course, continue, because it is now widely known as a mark of quality and safety,
With “Laid in Britain” to paraphrase another advert – “you get what it says on the tin” (or egg box!)
In addition, as pointed out earlier, because “Laid in Britain” producers, by and large, deliver their own produce locally and regionally, there is little danger of shortages or delays affecting distribution. Truly a win-win situation, and one which guarantees optimum freshness.
