Clearer Labelling With Red Tractor
UK - Assured Food Standards (AFS) has completed a major project to deliver a more joined up approach and clearer labelling to the Red Tractor farm assurance schemes. From April this year the scheme’s 45,000 farmers and growers will implement these standards that are aligned across all farm sectors for the first time.
14 January 2010
2 minute read
The review is designed to make sure there is more consistency across the standards in the Red Tractor ‘family’ and consistency behind the Red Tractor logo that all the sector schemes support.
As part of this new approach AFS has re-branded the current standards as ‘Red Tractor Farm Assurance’, to highlight the logo’s direct link with product marketing under the Red Tractor banner. All farmers and growers in the scheme will receive new manuals to help them meet industry standards for their sector.
Chief Executive of Assured Food Standards David Clarke said: “Promotion of assured food to consumers using the Red Tractor logo is getting an ever-increasing profile and it is essential that all sector standards include the same core values.
“It is important for the future of the Red Tractor that we continue to evolve our farm standards and share our values right across the food chain. British food is world class. It is produced on farms that are well-managed, by highly professional, well-qualified and caring producers. Certification to the Red Tractor scheme standards allows farmers and growers to demonstrate to their customers that they meet nationally agreed levels of best practice, which are second to none.
David Clarke added; “Re-branding the schemes will link the farm logo with the consumer Red Tractor logo and help shoppers identify that the products they are buying are from a Red Tractor farm.”
The Red Tractor logo is going from strength to strength with more than £10 billion worth of products currently carrying the quality assurance mark. New funding from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board will help to deliver strong messages about the quality and standards of production across the food chain.
National Farmers' Union President Peter Kendall said: “The alignment of farm standards along with the new funding from the AHDB will help to achieve clearer messages about the quality and standards of production by our committed farmers and growers”.
“It is vital that our agricultural and horticultural products, which are produced to high, independently inspected standards, are distinguishable in the market place by the Red Tractor logo. This is even more pertinent after the publication of the Government’s Food Vision which is encouraging consumers to buy British and supports our calls for clearer labelling.”
All assured farmers will receive the new manuals together with newsletters by February 2010. These new standards will be effective for farm inspections from April 1 2010. Producers can see any updates that might affect them at the Red Tractor website (www. redtractor.org.uk/standards).
