Marmalade will not have to be renamed, UK Government says

Marmalade will not have to be renamed as a result of a post-Brexit trade deal, the Government has said.

Reporting across the media has raised the alarm that the fruit preserve will have to be relabelled “citrus marmalade” on British supermarket shelves as a result of EU rules the Government is set to adopt as part of a food deal.

The rebrand would be required because of a relaxation of rules by Brussels, which is widening the definition of marmalade, the reports suggested.

The relaxation will allow for other preserves to be sold under that name, as long as they make mention of the kind of fruit being used within the spread.

This law was the product of a British-led lobbying campaign in the 1970s which gave marmalade made from oranges a special status in EU law, and meant other preserves had to be labelled as jam.

A Government source pointed out that marmalade on UK supermarket shelves is already usually labelled as “orange marmalade” or “Seville orange marmalade”, which they suggested was in compliance with the EU rules.

The EU directive states the term “citrus” can be replaced by the name of the fruit used in the marmalade, the source pointed out.

The Government source said: “This isn’t such a sticky situation after all. The only ‘marmalade madness’ is the Tories and Reform boiling over with rage about jar labels that won’t need to change.

“Despite false claims that the name orange marmalade is toast, it will be preserved, so there’s no need to spread alarm.”

Among those who criticised the Government for the apparent threat of a name change for marmalade was shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.

She wrote on social media site X: “Labour is now attacking the great British marmalade!

“No idea Keir is so desperate to fit in with his EU pals and unpick Brexit, he’s now looking to rename British marmalade to align with the EU.”