UK retailer Waitrose has rebranded its 'British' line of private-label lamb ready meals, after it was revealed last year that they contained lamb from New Zealand, according to a report by the BBC.
Initially, the company affixed stickers acknowledging the meat's provenance, but now all 'British' lamb meals, such as hotpot and shepherd's pie, will be rebranded 'Classic'.
Pork, beef and chicken dishes in the range will not be affected, as the meat used in those products is of British origin.
A Waitrose spokesperson told the BBC that the British label "was only ever supposed to denote the origin of the recipe, but we understand why confusion has arisen".
The move was applauded by the National Farmers' Union, who said that the previous wording was misleading for shoppers and frustrating for farmers.
In March last year, the union had praised Aldi for being the only supermarket chain in the UK to sell British lamb, encouraging other chains, such as Sainsbury's, to pledge to source 100% British lamb.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
