UK supermarket giant Tesco has played down a row brewing over its decision to source Black Angus beef, sold as sirloin and rib-eye steaks, from the US.
A spokesperson for the company told just food that the retailer decided to offer the “premium product” in “very small number of stores” in the UK in an effort to increase customer choice.
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“It makes up 0.0005% of our beef offer – that is one 5,000th of 1%. The remainder of our beef offer is sourced from the UK and Ireland. We are the biggest customer of British agriculture and I don’t think that this specific product represents a challenge to the British agricultural industry,” the spokesperson said.
Nevertheless, farming representatives have criticised the move.
“While it’s fantastic to see the ongoing commitment from some of the retailers who source 100% British, fresh, red meat I believe others could do more to show commitment to British beef farmers,” NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh said.
“British producers are ideally placed to meet domestic demand and reduce any reliance on foreign meat imports. It is therefore disappointing that some retailers feel the need to undermine producer confidence by sourcing foreign beef. A greater commitment from retailers to stock as much British beef as possible would send out the correct message to farmers to invest in production and ensure the future viability of the industry.”
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By GlobalData
