UK farmers union complains over supermarkets "fake" farm brands

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Britain's farmers union has formally complained to the country's National Trading Standards Institute over the use by supermarkets, including market leader Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) , of "fake" farm branding on some food products, it said on Sunday.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) said its letter of complaint followed concerns expressed by its members that the use of fictional farm labels could be misleading for shoppers.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) said mixing imported product with British product under the same fake farm name could confuse customers, and called for clear guidelines for retailers on labelling the country of origin of goods.

The NFU highlighted Tesco's March launch of seven fresh fruit and vegetables, poultry and meat lines with fictional brand names such as 'Woodside Farms' and 'Boswell Farms'.

"The NFU's legal team has looked at this carefully and as a result we are asking Trading Standards Institute to look at whether 'fake' farm branding complies with the relevant legal requirements," said NFU President Meurig Raymond.

"I have spoken to senior management at Tesco to highlight our members' concerns about the use of these fake farm brands," he added.

Raymond (BSE: RAYMOND6.BO - news) welcomed a commitment from discounter Aldi to only source British product for its fictional farm brands by the end of March 2017.

Tesco has defended the brands, saying its customers were well aware that the supermarket was so big it could not possibly source all its products from individual farms.

Chief Executive Dave Lewis said in April the farm brands' launch was the most significant investment he had made since taking over as CEO in September 2014. [nL5N17G2EZ}

"With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) over two-thirds of our customers having bought products in the range, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said a Tesco spokeswoman, adding the farm brands range had gone through all necessary checks with Trading Standards. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter)