The National Farmers' Union on Monday called for food to be clearly labelled with its country of origin as the Food Standards Agency said it hoped to confirm this week whether or not poultry infected with the H5N1 virus had reached supermarket shelves, write Jenny Wiggins and Fiona Harvey.

Kevin Pearce, head of food and farming at the NFU, said: "Most of the damage to the industry [from bird flu] is from the uncertainty and confusion in the minds of consumers. One way for people to be clearer about the food they are eating is to have products very clearly labelled."