UK pressurises Quorn into relabelling

The campaign in the UK to ensure that the meat substitute Quorn is correctly labelled has moved one step closer to victory, encouraging news for the American organisation backing the campaign.

After months of deliberation, the UK Advertising Standards Authority has persuaded advertising watchdogs to force Quorn producer Marlow Foods to either clarify the ingredient label 'mushroom protein' or else drop it from all advertising and packaging, a report in the Financial Times​ said.

The Advertising Standards Authority agreed the term was "misleading" and has effectively banned the company from using the tag in any future UK advertising unless an explanation of the product's specification is given.

Marlow Foods said it would abide by the ruling but continues to deny all allegations that Quorn is unsafe.

However, the pressure group's attempts to persuade the Food Standards Agency that Quorn is unsafe for human consumption remain thwarted.

The Agency this week rejected claims from the Washington-based Centre for Science in the Public Interest that a growing number of people are falling ill after eating the brand. Many consumers of the product have reported adverse allergic reaction and scientist believe that a small but significant number of the population maybe predisposed to the allergy.

The FSA's director of food safety policy, Jon Bell, told the group: "Any protein-containing food has the potential to cause an allergic reaction."​

The FSA reported that its research work into Quorn suggests that one person in every 146,000 may have an allergic reaction to the product.