8. CONCLUSIONS
8.1 There is need for better coordination between government, professionals and the food and drink industry to consider all issues surrounding sustainability and health. The current food assurance schemes largely focus on food safety and quality - none currently embrace all four issues of quality, health, affordability and environmental sustainability.
8.2 Sustainability is now higher on the agenda of the food and drink industry and is being adopted by more businesses but has a lower profile than food safety and quality. Health issues connected with food is further behind sustainability as a priority for most food and drink businesses.
8.3 "Australia made" may be a model that merits further study in the Scottish context. It was originally created by the Australian Government but is now independent and run by business for business - would it be legal within EU rules?
8.4 Many smaller food and drink manufacturers increasingly identify themselves with local markets rather than with a wider Scottish identity. Regional initiatives to assist small businesses to promote their products, such as East Lothian Food and Drink, feature heavily the local nature of the food rather than a wider Scottish label. This confers dual benefit of (i) clear marketing message and (ii) meets demand for sustainability and traceability.
8.5 Multiple retailers and larger food service companies indicate that there is some consumer interest in purchasing more locally produced food and drink, in some cases this is local/regional, in others Scottish. However they stress the need for consumers to be prepared to pay extra for higher quality product where local/regionally branded goods tend to be positioned. While this may seem counter-intuitive, it reflects retailers' established distribution systems that have evolved to maximise efficiency of operation.
8.6 In some sub-sectors, there are insufficient supplies of raw materials to provide all of the ingredients required to manufacture what have been regarded as traditional 'Scottish' products, such as oats, butter, sugar, barley. In other sub-sectors, products perceived as intrinsically Scottish may contain raw materials that cannot be sourced from Scotland.
8.7 The current rules on labelling are recognised to be in need of revision and in some cases are confusing to the public. A variety of labels/promotions are used to apparently denote provenance, such as the Saltire or tartan packaging, even though the product may not be truly of Scottish origin . This is potentially misleading, even though it may not be strictly illegal. For this reason there have been no recent prosecutions taken in Scotland with regard to mis-labelling of food and drink products, and few reported complaints.
8.8 There is confusion amongst producers and consumers about the terms used to describe food and drink products as of Scottish origin. If terms such as "Made in Scotland" and "Product of Scotland" are to be used to convey different messages then there will need to be an effective educational campaign to ensure public understanding. While the positive associations with Scotland were widely recognised so too were the risks of devaluing through the overuse or inappropriate use of terms such as "made in" or "product of" Scotland.
8.9 Local Authorities are responsible for enforcing the legislation on labelling of foods in Scotland. This is currently regarded as a lower priority than other responsibilities such as food safety, so in most cases local authority staff would only tend to investigate in response to specific risk to the public or where there has been a specific complaint.
8.10 The proposed changes to EC regulation on labelling of main or characterising ingredients, if implemented in its current form, could require some well established Scottish brands to indicate that their main ingredients have not been produced in Scotland.
8.11 In the meat sector there are claims that animals in Scotland are produced to higher welfare standards compared with other parts of the EU. Whilst some studies have indicated that interest in higher welfare standards is increasing there is insufficient research to indicate that Scottish consumers are sufficiently aware of these higher welfare and quality standards so further market research is necessary.