TROLLEYWATCH-WHATYOUTHINKABOUTIT…
TROLLEYWATCH-WHATYOUTHINKABOUTIT…
Trolley Watch reports
each month on
the prices and
availability of
British goods
in seven
supermarkets –
each run by a
different company – across
the UK. Gathering the
information are seven
trolley watchers each
armed with a list of
commodities. Trolley Watch
aims to commend good
practice and expose bad
practice. Since the series
was introduced last month,
the response from
FARMERS WEEKLY readers
has been overwhelming –
here are some of your views
on the promotion of
British farm produce
I have just found alongside my three pints of British milk, the enclosed Dairy Crest promotion for Dutch bacon.
I find it hard to believe that a company which relies on the efforts of the British farmer for its income can at the same time stab him in the back.
Graham P Bauly,
Malting Farm, Hessett, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
I am writing to complain about the ad I saw in Sainsburys magazine (Nov and Dec) issues. I have written to Sainsburys on four occasions but have not yet received a reply.
Candia is produced in France so are we to assume all "ordinary" milk is UK-produced?
The French milk should have the words "Produced in France" on the front of the bottle. Customers do not know they are buying French milk – supposing instead that all milk comes from the nearest dairy farm.
I also object to the statement some say Candia skimmed milk tastes "milkier" than short-life skimmed milk. One milk cannot taste milkier than another – this is an invented term.
In the advert, the UK milk is pictured in an ordinary glass but the French milk is served in a white wine flute. This is very subtle but does imply that the French product is superior.
I think Sainsbury owes UK dairy farmers an apology but my letters of complaint seem to have been lost in the post.
Name and address
supplied.
This reader also complained to the Advertising Standards Authority – here is an extract from their reply:
We have considered your complaint but do not consider ASA action necessary on this occasion. The Codes do not require that advertisers state the country of origin of their products and the copy makes clear that the "milkier" claim is merely the subjective view of some people.
Its OK for the general public to compare prices as per Trolley Watch but farmers must also watch the prices they are paid.
In Trolley Watch in January Waitrose was the most expensive but as a farmer I wouldnt complain because I sent 11 sheep to Waitrose before Christmas and was paid 215p/kg for Grade R4L.
I also sent 10 steers and four heifers to Dawkins (for Marks & Spencer?) and was paid 165p/kg for R4L grade.
It is possible that the cattle didnt go to M&S but they inspect any cattle and require forms to be filled in.
Waitrose are extremely good payers and also look after us farmers very well with days out and farm demonstrations – not to mention Christmas gifts!
Name and address supplied
SUPERMARKET TROLLEY WATCH
Good luck in your Trolley Watch campaign, and lets hope you can bring your results to a wider audience. Some things to watch for which I have taken my local supermarket to task for:
• Shelves marked with "British Meat" stickers holding NZ lamb;
• Gammon joins with no country of origin;
• Bacon labelled "Suffolk Choice" but actually Dutch (this one really annoyed me!);
• No dry-cured unsmoked bacon stocked (apart from Danish).
David Owen-Roberts, Technical director,
Minsups, Winsford.
Having read the first Trolley Watch feature with interest I wish to offer my support to your campaign and welcome your decision to highlight the successes, as well as the failings, of retailers in supporting British produce.
Waitrose has always supported British produce and farmers, some of whom we have been dealing with for more than 30 years and there is currently a waiting list of farmers for our 14 livestock schemes.
All Waitrose beef, pork and eggs are sourced from British suppliers. A total of 80% of our bacon is British with 20% sourced from Denmark. All Waitrose own-label chicken is produced in the UK. Our lamb is produced in the UK with the exception of some seasonal lamb from New Zealand which is available in Waitrose branches from January to April. But we are also using the Dorset breed under our British Farmhouse Lamb scheme which can breed all year round naturally and provides continuity of quality supply (in the majority of Waitrose branches) from the end of January until Easter.
We are committed to long-term relationships with the British farmers supplying Waitrose and have long been commended for our buy-British policy and support of UK farming. Our farmer-suppliers are involved in realistic discussions on price and, as we have no wish to see them go out of business, we support them as much as possible within competitive boundaries.
Because we buy direct from farmers, rather than through markets, we have been able to establish a dedicated supply chain where everyone involved has a sound knowledge of each others requirements.
David Jones,
Central buyer, Dairy, Waitrose, Southern Industrial Area, Bracknell, Berks.
Our bouquet this month goes to Waitrose for its policy of supporting British farmers through its livestock schemes and for giving its
supermarket customers a wide choice of British farm produce – both mainstream and
organic.
And congratulations, Waitrose, for providing the additional extras that moved one of our readers to write to us
in praise of them.
A good and fair
partnership between producer and retailer
is the way forward for
a stronger industry,
too often producers get an unfair crack of the price whip.
Who do you feel deserves a bouquet or a thumbs-down? Write and tell us your experiences of supermarkets – either as producer or consumer – good or bad.
Write to Farmlife, Quadrant House,
The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS or
tessa.gates@rbi.co.uk if you prefer email.