Sweden's three ‘red-green' opposition parties have called for all meat products sold in the EU to be labelled with their country of origin. The demand comes in the wake of widely publicised reports on the treatment of Danish pigs. However, agriculture minister Eskil Erlandsson (Centre Party) has rejected mandatory labelling on the grounds that it could be too expensive, according to Swedish Radio.

“We have found that a voluntary arrangement not only works but works better from a number of standpoints, including cost," he said.

Although all beef sold in the EU must carry country of origin labels, the requirement does not apply to pork.