Supermarket to source all beef in UK (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Supermarket to source all beef in UK

11:19am Monday 17th March 2008 in News By Ben Briggs

A LEADING supermarket has announced that all its beef will now be bought in Britain, much of it being processed at an East Lancashire abattoir.

All fresh beef sold in Morrisons stores nationwide will be British sourced, a move the company claims is part of its ongoing support for UK farming.

The decision has been praised by East Lancashire farming leaders who said it showed the way forward for other supermarkets.

All Morrisons' fresh meat - beef, lamb, pork and poultry - is now 100 per cent British sourced and Woodhead Brothers, the Colne abattoir that processes a high percentage of the supermarket's meat, will play a key role in this production process.

Morrisons chiefs claim that the East Lancashire site is the largest three species abattoir in the UK, processing around 1,000 cattle, 4,000 sheep and 7,000 pigs every week.

Morrisons, alone among the major supermarkets, processes more than 90 per cent of its fresh meat in-house through joint ventures like Woodhead Brothers.

This involvement in the whole supply chain has enabled the switch to 100 per cent British meat which gives the company close control of quality and provenance.

Morrisons corporate affairs director, Chris Blundell, said "We are different from the other major supermarkets in that we specialise in food - we source and process fresh food ourselves and prepare it freshly in store.

"We already sell only 100 per cent British fresh pork, lamb and poultry and this move to 100 per cent British fresh beef is part of our commitment to offering fresh, British sourced food wherever we can and supporting British farming."

Lancashire National Farmers' Union representative Thomas Binns, who farms 100 commercial beef cattle and 2,500 ewes in Downham, said it was a major step for Morrisons to take.

He said: "It's fantastic news for British beef producers.

"I have been involved in encouraging them to do this and it complements their 100 per cent British lamb policy.

"It demonstrates that British beef is top quality and is available 365 days a year.

"East Lancashire has some exceptionally good quality cattle.

"Being in Colne, Woodheads are in a good location to pick out the cattle and this is a good step forward. We hope others follow suit."

National NFU president Peter Kendall said it was a reflection of the excellence of the British beef and of the support it enjoyed from consumers in this country.