Speaking to an audience of 150 members of the livestock and meat industry on Tuesday, Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) Chairman Peter Barr said newly carried-out research had shown some surprising results

He told the MLC Outlook Conference in London that previous work had shown only 11 per cent of people believed the country of origin of their food to be important.

But when the word "food" was replaced by the word "meat" the percentage of people who said country of origin was among the top five factors in making their buying decision rose to 30 per cent.

The research also showed quality marks to be more than twice as important in choosing meat than in other food and while the number identifying the visual appearance of "food" as a buying factor was 37 per cent, the number who felt the appearance of meat important was 58 per cent.

Mr Barr, said: "These results are not surprising. We have a great product, a robust home demand and shoppers who are predisposed to our meat."

Note: Early figures taken from IGD research carried out in 2005. Later figures from a survey by EBLEX (English Beef and Lamb Executive) and BPEX (British Pig Executive) July/August 2006.

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