National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland’s latest shelfwatch has found that Tesco and Aldi sell 100% Scottish beef burgers, with the majority of large supermarket chains in Scotland also stocking Scottish burgers.
Conducted by union members and staff, the shelfwatch identified that, as well as Tesco and Aldi guaranteeing customers Scottish burgers, Scotch beef burgers were also on offer in Morrisons, the Co-op and Lidl. While not labelled as Scotch, all burgers in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer were British.
However, the majority of burgers in the Asda store surveyed were not marked with any clear country of origin, although British ones were available.
NFU Scotland livestock committee chairman, Charlie Adam, commented: “Farmers and the Scottish general public will be hoping the forecast of fine weather for next week comes true. And if people are digging out their barbeques, we want to help to make sure it is Scottish burgers on the menu.
“While many will use their local butcher or farm shop to source their meat, it is encouraging for anyone planning a ‘barbie’ that the vast majority of large retailers in Scotland also offer Scotch beef burgers.
“All burgers available in the Tesco and Aldi stores are Scottish and this commitment to provenance and clear labelling is positive.
“It was unfortunate that the origin of some of the burgers available in Asda was not apparent from the label – something we have raised with the retailer - and this is why we think it is important for shoppers that we see clear Country of Origin Labelling for processed meats introduced in the UK.
“I would urge all of those retailers who do not currently offer Scotch Beef Burgers to go back to their own supply chain and make sure they offer burgers from Scotland in their Scottish stores.”
NFU Scotland’s burger shelf watch surveyed a total of nine supermarket stores, in the Midlothian area, looking at fresh beef offerings.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
