Transcript Slide 2

RED TRACTOR SCHEME
MANAGING & PROMOTING ASSURANCE
FOR THE FOOD CHAIN
Core activities
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Define the standards
Communicate attributes to
consumers
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Ensure conformance
Identify assured product
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Assured Food Standards (AFS)
an independent not-for-profit organisation
AFS - Owned By The Food Chain
NFU (England & Wales)
Six Major Commodity Sectors
Cattle/Sheep
Pigs
Ulster Farmers Union
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board
Chicken & Turkeys
Dairy
Crops
Dairy UK
British Retail Consortium
Links: Food & Drink Federation
Fresh Produce
Not eggs - Lion Egg Code
Standards
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Standards:
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Food safety and hygiene
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Animal welfare
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Environmental protection
Based on:
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EU / UK legislation
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Codes of Good Agricultural practice
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Standards harness the best expertise in the UK
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Checked at every critical stage across the food
chain - 60,000 inspections undertaken every year
Red Tractor = whole chain assured
Every critical link in the supply chain e.g. pigs
Certified feed
Certified stock
Certified farms
Certified livestock
transport
Certified slaughter &
processing plants
Red Tractor = whole chain assured
Every critical link in the supply chain e.g. cattle
Certified feed
Certified farms
Certified livestock
transport
Certified markets
Certified slaughter &
processing plants
Leading quality kitemark for British food and drink
£8 billion (rsv) +60% in 3 years
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Strong consumer interest in food quality and where it comes from
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Supported by: farming bodies, Government, food retailers, leading fmcg brands and
food service operators
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Over 400 leading packers and processors licensed to use the logo
Red Tractor logo underpinning major brands
“All our Bally Manor chicken & Strathvale fresh and processed pork
and beef is 100% British and approved by Assured Food Standards”
Brands & Food Service
Where next?
Farm standards
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harmonisation across the commodity sectors
For:
 Consistency across the AFS family of schemes
 Consistency behind the common Red Tractor Logo
 More efficient integrated inspections of mixed farms
Progressing well - completed during 2009
Some enhancements to standards in parallel
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further tightening on feed controls
remove assurance anomalies around beef from dairy herds
“Harmonisation” of internal organisation to match
Avoid unnecessary duplication of inspections
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Avoid duplication of industry inspections
Assured farms considered ‘lower risk’ by regulatory inspectors
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already in place since 2007 – food hygiene inspections (FSA)
– (but not yet applicable to Dairy farms)
work in progress
– animal health & welfare (DEFRA)
– PPC regulations pig and poultry farms (Environment Agency)
More frequent inspections than regulatory bodies
Can act quickly and decisively against non-conformers (deny market
access)
“If anything was likely to have encouraged William Tudor to get his act together
on food hygiene, it would have been the direct threat of failing to secure, or
losing, what was a very significant contract.”
Integrity of Red Tractor logo
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Red Tractor Logo only used under licence since launch in 2000
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Licensing rules and conditions apply
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Routine programme of audits commissioned by AFS
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of All licensees to validate correct use of logo
Integrated with other on-site audits, e.g. BRC
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include access to site and records for inspection
for efficiency and to avoid duplication
In future - greater transparency of reporting of inspection outcomes
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e.g. trend analysis of farm inspections & benchmarking
Origin labelling of meat
“Made in the Republic of Ireland from Imported Beef”
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Origin - Place of farming or place of processing?
Red Tractor Logo includes secondary statement of origin in the flag
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‘Origin’ is the place of farming
Red Tractor rules are totally consistent with Food Standards Agency
guidelines
The AFS integrity programme validates the claim
The Union Flag in the Red Tractor logo means that the meat has come
from a UK farm
Building penetration of Red Tractor logo
£8 billion (rsv) +60% in 3 years
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Used by all major food retailers in the UK
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Increasingly by brands and food service operators
PR and promotions
Marketing and Communications
New opportunities with AHDB
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Use the Red Tractor logo to identify quality assured food
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including the secondary statement of origin
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Motivate shoppers to buy Red Tractor food
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Deliver value to the food chain
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A single logo to avoid confusion
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synergies outweigh the threats
Developing strategies with AHDB
(pending State Aids approval)
Summary
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Identified current priorities & challenges
Assurance schemes & the Red Tractor logo are well established
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Red Tractor logo means assured standards at every critical point in the
supply chain
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better integration of technical standards across agricultural sectors will
provide a solid platform for future development
partnership with AHDB gives a new opportunity for stronger consumer
communications
validated by strong integrity programmes
Avoid a confusing plethora of schemes and logos
The Red Tractor scheme only works if whole food chain gets behind it