Asda agrees to change ‘misleading’ beef label

The NFU is claiming victory after persuading Asda to change packaging on some of its fresh beef which could have been misleading for consumers. 

The supermarket had originally stocked ‘Butchers Selection’ Hereford beef imported from South America but had not clearly indicated to consumers that the product was imported. 

This led to the NFU challenging the retailer to change the labels to ensure consumers knew what they were putting in their trolley.  

Lee Woodger, NFU head of food chain, said: “In using the breed name ‘Hereford’ the packaging implied that the beef was from animals born and reared in our own pastures when in fact it came from Uruguay.  

“We felt that these labels were misleading shoppers who, understandably, assumed the product was British. 

“We are pleased that Asda has listened to our complaint and changed the packaging so it is now clear that the beef comes from Uruguay.” 

Mr Woodger said the new packaging was an ‘exemplar case’ of how food should be labelled. 

The NFU would be writing to the British Retail Consortium in order to encourage them to improve the voluntary code of practice on country of origin labelling, he added.