David Cameron has refused to call for clearer labelling of halal products in supermarkets and restaurants.
Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister has “no concerns” about the meat that he buys and said it is for retailers and restaurants to decide whether to provide more information about halal products.
It came just hours after Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, called for clearer labelling of all halal meat products.
Mr Clegg said that while he had “no problem” eating a pizza with halal meat, it would be “relatively straightforward” for businesses to tell people how the meat they were eating “arrived on their plates”.
His comments echoed those made by religious leaders, who have said that shoppers must be told exactly how animals have been killed through clear labelling on food packaging.
In a letter to the Telegraph, the faith leaders suggested that all menus and packets should specify how animals have been slaughtered regardless of whether they are kosher or halal.
Their intervention follows disclosures that diners have been unknowingly served halal chicken in Pizza Express and other restaurant chains.
More than 70 per cent of all New Zealand lamb in supermarkets is from halal abattoirs – a fact not stated on labelling. » | Peter Dominiczak, Assistant Political Editor | Thursday, May 08, 2014
