Chicken campaign competition winner announced

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Compassion in World Farming launched a competition to design a new label for Tesco's intensively-reared chicken after a chickenout.tv poll found the retailer to have the most misleading chicken label out of five leading UK supermarkets, with 76% of the votes.

Consumers were asked to design a label that would more accurately reflect the conditions faced by chickens reared in intensive production systems.

"Since Tesco 'won' our most misleading label poll with over three-quarters of all votes, we wanted to give the public a chance to propose what they think Tesco should put on the label," said Eloise Shavelar, chicken campaign co-coordinator for Compassion in World Farming.

The winning label, designed by Debbie Cripps of Moulton, Lincolnshire, has been presented to Tesco by in the hopes that it will encourage the retail giant to take a more "honest" approach to poultry labelling.

Fearnley-Whittingstall, the judge of the competition, said: "I chose the winning label for its transparency and fairness. This design is a stark contrast from the outdoor image and misleading wording that currently appears on the Tesco standard chicken label.

"If Tesco took the principle of this winning label, it would allow shoppers to know the true conditions in which their chicken was produced. And on that basis I'm sure many more Tesco shoppers would switch to a higher-welfare choice."

Criticising supermarkets for using packaging that includes "meaningless descriptions" and images which imply that intensive chickens live an outdoor life, the celebrity chef added: "Clear and honest labelling will empower shoppers to make an informed choice."

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