ANDREW TURNER MP
Andrew Turner MP
24 The Mall, Carisbrooke,
Isle of Wight PO30 1BW
Tel: 01983 530808
email: [email protected]
BY - ANDREW TURNER MP
Andrew Turner
Most people are aware that there
are rules about advertising.
The basic principle is that all
information should be ‘Legal,
Decent, Honest and Truthful’.
Advertisers can’t just ‘make
up’ claims about their products.
The Advertising Standards
Authority polices the system.
In recent years, they have
ruled that Pantene shampoo
doesn’t really make your hair
‘10 times stronger’ and that
an Estee Lauder cream didn’t
actually ‘reduce the appearance
of cellulite’; it was tested
on the back of the hand – a
cellulite free zone! Even the
Tax Authorities got into trouble
when an advert about Working
Tax Credits was judged to be
‘misleading and confusing’. I
agree there – trying to sort
out problems has often left me
misled and confused!
It is hard to understand why
food manufacturers still get
away with deceiving the public
on a very big issue. Sure,
there are plenty of regulations
about what must appear on food
labels (size of lettering, which
E-numbers have to be shown,
the order ingredients are listed,
and so on) but we are not always
told truthfully where our food is
produced.
I can’t pretend I have agreed
with every single policy my
party has announced over the
years, but one I am very pleased
to support wholeheartedly is
the Honest Food Campaign.
It touches issues that go far
beyond party politics.
Currently, meat can be
imported from as far away as
Brazil or Thailand - but if it is
turned into sausages, pies or
bacon in this country it can be
labelled as British. I think this
is wrong. Food manufacturers
shouldn’t be allowed to deceive
the public. Sell Brazilian
sausages by all means – but
don’t pretend they are British.
Britain produces some of the
finest meat and dairy products
in the world, and our animal
welfare standards are among the
highest. Our farmers produce
excellent cereal and vegetable
foods. We need to safeguard
the British brand – food labelled
as ‘British’ should come from
Britain!
Surely people can decide
whether to buy UK products or
food shipped in from abroad, but
to be able to make that choice
we need accurate information.
We can take this further by
promoting the Island. We have
local producers of extremely
high quality foods. Dunsbury
life
Lamb, Briddlesford Farm Milk,
Isle of Wight Cheese, and of
course vegetables galore – I
could go on and on. Island
food deserves its place with the
finest produce this country has
to offer.
Of course you are reading this
in Island Life, a local magazine
which has a fine track record of
championing Island food. Their
annual Food & Drink Awards
gives us the opportunity to vote
for our favourite p