Despite country of origin food labeling playing a key role at World Trade Organisation talks, one populace at least admits the labels are not only “not particularly important”, but also, “confusing”.

A study conducted by UK Food Standards Agency looking at how people understand and use food labels uncovered that while consumers were aware of country of origin labeling, it was not a main concern when shopping,

Instead, price and food safety information were viewed as more important addition to labels.

The study, involving interviews with 2100 adults, found consumers were confused about whether "country of origin" referred to where animals were born, raised or slaughtered or whether this referred to where a food product had been processed.

But when the crunch came, the research also identified that those who were keen on the country of origin labeling said they would be prepared to pay a small price for the privilege of knowing the source of their food.

When asked which foods they would like to see origin labeling, people most frequently mentioned meat and meat products.

Food Standard Association chief executive, Tim Smith, said consumers were seeking out product information but it was not necessarily being presented correctly.

“The issue is not about more origin labeling but the need for greater clarity on the labels on some of our most popular foods,” he said.

“European labeling rules being proposed will require businesses that make origin claims to provide further information, so that people will know where their food actually comes from, not just where it was processed.”

The study comes as the British Government’s conservative party, the Tories, have stepped up its “Honest Food” Campaign which calls for mandatory labels to spell out the origin of meat from abroad.