Butchers are the ‘mistress’ of the high street, says sausage manufacturer

That’s the view of Rob Sessions, director of Sessions, a manufacturer of sausages based in Kidderminster.

In this exclusive podcast for FoodManufacture.co.uk​, he reflects on the increasing customer focus on traceability in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

Robust traceability​

Despite noticing an increase in trade at many of the butchers he supplies, he says butchers are often the “mistress”​ of the high street, with shoppers only using them when it suits them.

That said, Sessions also discusses how the horsemeat scandal has opened up opportunities for smaller family-owned businesses like his, which have robust traceability systems in place alongside a local ethos.

He also discusses how he has been able to diversify his product offerings to compensate for the reduction in high street butchers and tap into new markets such as schools, cafes and fish and chip shops.

Meanwhile, the Food Manufacture​ Group is staging a free, one-hour webinar, to take place at 11am on Thursday May 16. The webinar – Horsemeat: learning the lessons of an avoidable crisis – will focus on how food businesses can guard against food contamination problems.