Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has teamed up with rowing crew Saltire Tides to promote the importance of ensuring consumers’ iron levels are adequate.
To mark World Iron Awareness Week (12th-18th October), research from Make It Scotch has highlighted that more than half of adults in Scotland have experienced, or suspect they have experienced, low iron at some point in their lives. Almost a third (29%) have received a formal diagnosis of iron deficiency, while 14% said they were currently living with low iron levels.
QMS said that the findings exposed a “knowledge gap”. It said most people (67%) know iron helps to reduce fatigue, but fewer (46%) realise it also contributes to the normal function of your immune system and mental function (43%). It also found that over half (56%) of Scots know beef is a source of iron, yet just 15% realise that lamb and pork contribute to the improvement of iron absorption when eaten with other foods containing iron, such as green vegetables and beans.
As part of Make It Scotch, QMS said that with 29% of Scots having taken on a new fitness challenge in the past two years, and 20% planning to within the next 12 months, it was “determined” to close the knowledge gap. To help educate consumers, QMS has teamed up with Scotland’s all-female rowing crew Saltire Tides to raise awareness of the importance of iron and where to get it. The team will take on the World’s Toughest Row across the Atlantic in December 2026.
Ellen Clark, Jenna Volpert and Lauren Wilde-Arnold will set off in December from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and the trio will row more than 3,000 nautical miles completely unsupported, all the way to Antigua. All working as healthcare professionals, the Scottish women are aiming to cross in under 40 days, which would break the current record for a female trio on this route. To do it, they’ll row in shifts around the clock, surviving on minimal sleep while battling 40ft waves, salt sores and total physical exhaustion for weeks at sea.
During the row, the crew expect to burn through around 5,000 calories a day to keep going, while juggling hydration, recovery, protein, carbs and iron.
Jenna Volpert, a trainee paediatric surgeon and Saltire Tides team member said: “We’re going to be asking a lot of our bodies out there – rowing in shifts around the clock with barely any sleep, for weeks on end – so getting our iron levels right isn’t optional for us. It’s essential.
“I’ve actually had my own experience with iron deficiency in the past, and I know first-hand how much it can impact fitness and training. That’s why we’ve made a huge effort to ensure we’re fuelling our bodies with the highest quality produce and the best nutrients we can find. Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Prime Scottish Pork are a big part of that plan, especially in the final weeks before we set off.”
Emma Health, director of marketing at QMS added: “What’s brilliant about teaming up with Saltire Tides is that they’re not just talking about the importance of iron in everyday life and fitness, they’re living it. Every stroke they take during their training and every mile they row on the Atlantic is powered by how well they’ve fuelled their bodies, and that’s the most honest demonstration of why iron matters that we could ask for.
“Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Prime Scottish Pork are sitting in supermarket fridges and on butchers’ counters across the country, and most people have no idea that pairing them with other foods as part of a healthy balanced diet helps your body absorb even more iron. We hope this partnership will change that.”
