SCHOOL EDITION 1 MARCH 2023 - Flipbook - Page 26
26 FARM WEEK
NEWS
NOVEMBER 23 2017
Union Shelfwatch finds consumers confused by poor labelling
N
FU Scotland’s latest shelfwatch, looking at almost
35,000 packs of pork, bacon
and gammon in 47 supermarket
stores, has found that consumers
will often struggle to identify just
where the meat has come from.
Marks
&
Spencer,
Co-op
and Waitrose were the only
supermarkets found to offer 100
per cent British pork, bacon and
gammon.
All other supermarkets were found
to be stocking fresh and processed
pork, bacon and gammon products
from a wide range of different
countries of origin including the
UK, Denmark, Holland, Germany
and Ireland.
More worryingly, some ownlabel and branded products were
labelled with more than one
country of origin such as ‘Germany
and Holland’ or even as broadly
labelled as just ‘EU’. All too often,
packs had no clear indication of
where the meat has actually come
from.
The results showed six per cent
bacon, gammon and pork packs had
an unclear or confusing country
of origin; five per cent had mixed
countries of origin on the same
pack (eg, Germany/Holland) and
15 per cent listed the ‘EU’ as the
country of origin.
WINNER: The Surecalf winner at the first show and sale in Enniskillen was
Jonathan Wright, Lisnaskea, who is pictured with Patrick MacFarlane, Zoetis.
NFU Scotland will be working
with supermarkets going forward
to encourage them to take the lead
from Marks and Spencers, Waitrose
and the Co-op when it comes to
country of origin labelling.
It makes sense for a business to be
transparent with its consumers and
offer them the choice they deserve.
NFU Scotland’s Food Chain Policy
Manager Lindsey Macdonald said:
“The lack of transparency found
on some products, particularly
processed goods, is alarming and is
indicative of how little care is shown
to label meat that is considered
anything other than ‘fresh meat’.
“It is a hard fact that the ‘last
point of processing’ oval on meat
packaging does not tell customers
where their meat has actually
come from. NFU is calling on
supermarkets and brands to clearly
label the origin of all their pork,
bacon and gammon products in
order to help their customers make
informed decisions without having
to find the small print somewhere
on the back of a pack of bacon. It
should never be a guessing game or
an assumption to establish where
your meat has come from.
“The shelfwatch survey also
showed that fake farm branding
remains a huge problem and
contributes to confusion.
CONGRATULATIONS: Aurelie Moralis, Zoetis, is pictured with
Henry Quinn, Kilkeel, who had the Surecalf winner at Hilltown’s first
show and sale.
“As an example, pig meat products
bearing the ‘Woodside Farm’ brand
at Tesco were, when examined,
found to be from various countries
around the EU and not one single
source.
“Going forward, I intend to work
closely with the supermarkets
falling short to help establish better
transparency for customers and to
celebrate those leading the way on
provenance.
“I will also be liaising with other
bodies to establish whether any
breaches in labelling have occurred.
In addition, NFUS continues to
lobby for better country of origin
labelling following Brexit.”
QUALITY: Richard McGinley, right, from Ballymoney, was
the Surecalf winner at Ballymena Mart. Also included are
judge Garth Corrie, left, and Patrick MacFarlane, Zoetis.
Surecalf programme expansion continues
W
ITH an additional two marts
participating and strong demand leading to a sale top price
at Hilltown, the steady growth
of the SureCalf programme
at the Province’s suckled calf sales is clear
to see.
This year, the animal health company
Zoetis, who organise the SureCalf programme,
offered a prize of £100 to the best SureCalf at
the opening shows at the participating marts.
At the first show and sale at Hilltown Mart,
Henry Quinn, Kilkeel, took the SureCalf
honours and at the second event the winning
SureCalf was certainly in demand when Corrie
Meats paid the top price of the night for this
326kg Limousin heifer which was exhibited by
Seamus Cunningham, Kilkeel, who received
£1,450. Judge on this occasion was Jim Quail,
ably assisted by his young grandson James.
PRIZE: Marshall Wright, Lisnaskea, won the Surecalf prize at the second
suckled calf sale at Enniskillen Mart. Patrick MacFarlane, Zoetis, offers his
congratulations. Also pictured is the judge, Richard Law.
Ballymena’s suckler calf show and sale
had a packed yard with Richard McGinley,
Ballymoney, receiving the Zoetis prize for his
349kg Charolais bull selected by judge Gareth
Corrie, which sold to D Salt, Dungannon, for
£960.
Enniskillen’s two shows and sales were
winning events for father and son team
Marshall and Jonathan Wright of Lisnaskea.
At the first event their Charolais bull calf
weighing 285kg sold for 261p per kg making a
total of £745.
The judge on this occasion was Robert
Simpson and purchaser was B McCauley,
Moneyslane, County Down.
At the second Ennikillen event, judge
Richard Law chose a Charolais bull calf to take
the honours. Eric Beattie, Brookeborough,
LEFT: Taking the Surecalf honours at Plumbridge
was Gary Warnock, who is congratulated by Patrick
MacFarlane, Zoetis. Also included is judge Richard
Devine.
TOP PRICE: Seamus Cunningham, Kilkeel, took top price at the second sale
at Hilltown Mart with his Surecalf which made £1,450. He is pictured with the
judge Jim Quail and his grandson James and Aurelie Moralis, Zoetis.
purchased this 310kg calf at 256p per kg to
realise £795.
The other newcomer to the Surecalf event
was Plumbridge Mart where judge Richard
Devine awarded the £100 Surecalf prize to
Gary Warnock for a 360 kilo March born bull
calf which made £990 and sold to Allister
Doran, Castlecaufield. Gary had six March
and April born bull calves which averaged 350
kilos at £865.
Commenting on the success of the
SureCalf programme, Aurelie Moralis,
Veterinary Consultant with Zoetis, said: “It
is a programme that is gaining momentum
as buyers experience the benefits and are
prepared to reward the seller adequately.
“This has been our experience in Scotland –
the programme started slowly and expanded
as both buyers and sellers experienced the
benefits of what SureCalf can offer.”
Aurelie went on to say that the procedure
for the programme is very simple. The
information required are the dates of birth
of the calves, numbers being sold, the date
of vaccination and the batch number of the
vaccines used as well as the name of their
veterinary practice. The participants then
receive personalised SureCalf certificates.
On the day of sale the seller provides the
buyer with this signed certificate showing
compliance with the SureCalf programme.
The seller will also receive blue ear tags which
can be fitted around the existing ear tags and
cards for the calf pens, thus identifying the
vaccinated calves for the buyers.
The SureCalf programme requires calves
to be over 10 weeks of age, and vaccinated
one to three weeks prior to sale with a single
intranasal dose of Rispoval IntraNasal (against
BRSv and PI3v) and a single intranasal dose of
Tracherine (against IBR).
The buyer benefits from up to six months
cover against IBR and up to three months
cover against BRSv and PI3v ensuring calves
are protected throughout the sale and into
the winter housing period.