From Thursday, extended rules on origin labelling will apply to meat in the refrigerated counters of German supermarkets and butchers’ shops.

The origin must now also be labelled for unpackaged meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry, as stipulated in a regulation by Germany’s Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir.

This already applied to packaged goods and unpackaged beef.

The country where the animal was reared and the country of slaughter must be labelled, either with small signs or on screens at the store.

The extended labelling requirement was intended to give consumers more clarity when shopping, Mr Özdemir said.

This would enable them to make a conscious decision in favour of domestic products and support German agriculture, which also stands for higher animal welfare and environmental standards compared to many other countries.

According to a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov, opinions on the benefits of extended labelling differ.

The survey showed that 35 per cent felt that it would tend to influence their purchasing decisions.

While 11per cent fully believed it would, and a further 24 per cent at least somewhat.

In contrast, 41 per cent felt that it would not influence their own purchasing decisions, and 22 per cent believed it would not make any difference at all.

And also 19 per cent said it probably wouldn’t.

Then 14 per cent stated that they did not buy meat at the fresh food counter at all.

The survey polled 4,634 people aged 18 and over, on January 24.

(dpa/NAN)