I must confess that I don't take much time studying the detail on food packs. The number of calories and the volume of salt, fat and sugar don't really mean that much to me. But I do want to know what I am eating which is why it's so important that food carries labels we can all understand.

And when something claims to be "healthy", "lite" or "good for you" I want to know I'm not being misled. I want to be able to see at a glance whether a "low fat" product contains more salt or sugar. How many people realise that "80% fat free" means that food is, in fact, high in fat?

We are discussing a new European law now that should make food labelling more effective. The labels will contain the figures they do now but we want a clearer label too so people can see what they are buying. The "traffic light" system used here already by some manufacturers is clear and easy to understand and that's the one I'll support. That's the system Which? and the British Heart Foundation like too. Whatever system we decide on, it will be simpler and it will be used throughout Europe.

There is another major food labelling issue that affects Wales and that is "country of origin" labelling for meat, poultry, dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables. At the moment farmers have very little control over their produce once it enters the food chain. What that means is that, for example, cheese using ingredients from another European country could falsely advertise itself as 'Welsh' if it was packaged here. Ham from pigs born and reared in Wales could be exported and labelled with the name of the country where it was processed. This is not acceptable to those of us who buy these products in good faith. It is certainly not acceptable to farmers whose genuine Welsh produce is competing against ones that are similarly branded but of lower quality or the farmers who might be missing out from not having the true origins of their products on display.

I am also supporting "production method" labelling for foods containing eggs and egg derivatives. This would mean that shoppers could tell the difference between eggs produced by "battery" hens in cages and those produced free range or using higher welfare standards. The same would be true for foods containing eggs.

We have talked about food labelling a lot in the European Parliament and they have been some of the most heated debates too! Food is a very political issue. I hope that at the end of these discussions we will agree on a formula that all of us can understand and which will also support Welsh farmers and food producers.

Diwedd/Ends