Some members of the British farming community have been left angry after discovering that Waitrose has included New Zealand lamb under its Duchy Organic brand.
The supermarket's Duchy Organic brand is a partnership between Waitrose and the Duchy Originals company, which was established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1992.
Some consumers and sheep farmers say that public perception of the brand is that it supports British farming, resulting in disappointment when New Zealand produce was spotted on the shelves.
Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association (NSA), commented: “We know that Waitrose doesn’t stock UK lamb in its standard ranges during winter, which we find incredibly disappointing, but consumers identify the Duchy brand with real provenance and expect it to be British.”
Happerly Passports, a group aiming to help producers, retailers and consumers connect with each other, expressed concerns via social media, tweeting: “The point is not that NZ lamb is bad, but brands play on consumer confusion.”
National Farmers Union (NFU) Cymru president Stephen James added: “Farmers want a commitment from UK retailers that PGI Welsh Lamb is given pride of place on supermarket shelves.
"As farmers we take great pride in providing safe food produced to the highest standards. I would like to remind consumers to check logos and labels on their purchases, both online and in store, to ensure they don’t get caught out by poor labelling practices."
In response to the criticism, Waitrose has said that the supermarket operates a “best in season” policy for all its lamb, to ensure customers can buy high quality lamb all year round.
A spokesperson commented: "During the British season, we only sell UK-farmed lamb, predominantly from Wales and the West Country.
"Outside the UK season, conventional UK lamb is always available on our service counters from a small number of our farmers who specialise in all-year-round production."
The retailer says it is running a trial with some of its UK Duchy Organic lamb farmers to establish the possibility of extending the season of its lamb.
The spokesperson added: "Overall we aim to get as many of our organic products from the UK as we possibly can but, in some cases, where it’s simply not possible to source our total requirement for the quantity and quality we need to supply our 300 plus shops, as is the case with organic lamb out of British season, we go abroad for a proportion of what we need rather than not offer an organic choice to our customers."
Sales of Waitrose Duchy Organic products generate a donation to The Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation.
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.
