Beef shopping guide helps consumers buy British
Ladies in Beef have produced a ‘Shopper’s Guide’ to help consumers identify British-reared beef more easily in supermarkets.
Timed to coincide with the start of Great British Beef Week (21-27 April), the Shopper’s Guide uses close-up images of supermarket labels, illustrating exactly what shoppers should be looking for on packets to correctly identify the origin of the meat.
The guide acknowledges that “shopping in supermarkets can be confusing because there is a bewildering selection of meat products and a variety of information and product claims that compete for space on the packaging.”
In an attempt to demystify labelling, the guide highlights four key details for consumers to be aware of:
- The EU Health Mark identifies where the product was packed, not the origin of the meat
- The mention of a British breed on a pack does not necessarily mean the meat in the pack has been produced in Britain
- Packs of meat in multibuy deals are not always from the same source
- There is no legal obligation on supermarkets to include origin of beef information in ready meals, meaning consumers might have to check the small print.
Ladies in Beef co-founder Minette Batters said: “Independent butchers and farm shops can help consumers decide what to buy, but not everyone has time to seek them out and most of us buy our meat from supermarkets. Convenient as it is, supermarket shopping can be confusing because of the selection of meat products on display and the variety of information on the packaging.
“From farm to fork, Ladies in Beef are so proud that British beef is world renowned. We want to help shoppers who want to buy British beef to do so more easily.”
A Shopper’s Guide to buying British beef is available to download from the Ladies in Beef website from today.