The UK’s National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has praised Aldi and Morrisons for having private label beef and lamb offerings that are 100 per cent British, and encouraged other supermarket chains trading in Britain to follow suit.
The provenances of private label beef and lamb sold under supermarkets’ private label lines are available on the NFU’s website. The information is the product of a year’s research.
"We want to promote British food to the general public and support shoppers who want to buy British food by helping them find it at different retailers," said Ruth Mason, chief food chain adviser for the NFU.
"If consumers know who is sourcing from British farmers and growers, it allows them to make an informed choice about which retailers they then want to buy from. This guide enables them to evaluate the performance of their regular retailer in terms of supporting British farming."
"What is needed is transparency. The overriding message for consumers is to buy British food and use this guide to be savvy about retailer sourcing policies for own-brand products.
"We also want all of the major retailers to pledge their support for the NFU’s Back British Farming Charter," she added.
In a past press release, Morrisons said, "We have always been a supporter of UK agriculture and buy a bigger proportion of the food that we sell from British farmers than any other major supermarket. We were therefore delighted to be able to sign up to the Back British Farming charter and fully support its goals."
Aldi issued a statement saying, "We pride ourselves on the long-term and mutually beneficial relationships we have developed with British farmers. Our fresh meat available in store every day is 100% British and carries the independent Red Tractor quality assurance mark. We are pleased to sign the NFU’s charter and underline our support for British agricultural jobs up and down the country."
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
