Sainsbury’s drops NI assurance logo
Supermarket Sainsbury’s has dropped a key farm assurance label from packaging just one month after ending its support for the Red Tractor logo.
The retailer blamed its latest plan, to remove the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme mark, on customer confusion.
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “Customers have told us that too many logos are confusing, so we will be phasing out the use of the NI Farm Quality Assurance Scheme logo on pack. “We will still use the standards as part of our wider sourcing standards.”
She added that forthcoming EU changes to food labelling regulations, had led the retailer to “review and prioritise the information on packaging”.
Despite a commitment by Sainsbury’s to support UK farming and double sales of home-produced food by 2020, the axing of the logo has been greeted with disappointment by NI’s Livestock and Meat Commission.
Chief executive for the LMC, Ian Stevenson said: “This is very disappointing news for our domestic industry.”
Mr Stevenson added: “The LMC welcomes Sainsbury’s commitment to retain the FQAS standard as a fundamental requirement of its sourcing policy but by removing the logo at point of sale on retail packs it is removing a very clear indicator of independently accredited assurance.
“LMC’s message to consumers is very simple: beef and lamb in packs carrying the FQAS logo is guaranteed to be from an independently inspected and certified farm in Northern Ireland.”
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