{"id":25318,"date":"2017-02-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/nfu-rails-against-kiwi-lamb\/"},"modified":"2017-02-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T11:00:00","slug":"nfu-rails-against-kiwi-lamb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/nfu-rails-against-kiwi-lamb\/","title":{"rendered":"NFU rails against kiwi lamb"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

The fallout began when the NFU rapped the supermarket over the knuckles for branding some of its lamb ready meals as British when the small print declared they were actually based on NZ lamb.<\/p>\n

As a result Waitrose, according to the NFU, said that in the short term it would ensure all products had the origin of the lamb clearly marked on the front of pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaitrose has also committed to re-branding the range and is looking at a better solution to meet customer needs in the future,\u201d the NFU, whose complaint against the supermarket focused on meals that were branded as Waitrose British despite their NZ base, said.<\/p>\n

When Farmers Weekly asked Waitrose if the term \u2018better solution\u2019 meant removing NZ lamb from these products and replacing it with British lamb, the response wasn\u2019t entirely encouraging for NZ producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have challenged our supplier to explore the practicalities of using more British lamb in our ready meals,\u201d a Waitrose spokesman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, because of our policy of buying and utilising the whole carcase, we do not have sufficient raw material available to make this change but, nevertheless, we are exploring this option.\u201d<\/p>\n

NFU president Meurig Raymond was keen to drive home the union\u2019s domestic advantage, pointing out the inclusion of the word British in the brand name, despite the meat being sourced from NZ, was misleading for shoppers and frustrating for British farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter extensive discussions between us, however, we\u2019re now pleased to see some changes being made,\u201d he said, adding that new on-pack stickers now clarified the sourcing of the ingredients, with agreement also reached on a long-term plan for a full rebrand of the British product range to avoid any future confusion on sourcing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring these discussions we also urged the retailers to make the most of the high-quality British food products our farmers produce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best way to celebrate British provenance with their customers and we\u2019ll continue to push this message with Waitrose and others in the supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A lamb product mislabelling spat between England\u2019s National Farmers Union and the United Kingdom supermarket chain, Waitrose, could end up costing New Zealand exporters a bit of high profile business.\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":25319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t