British retailers are backing the Red Tractor food assurance scheme with two thirds of all eligible fresh commodity foods sold through the major high street supermarkets now featuring the logo.
Assured Food Standards (AFS), the organisation set up to manage the scheme, has reported that there has been a rise of £1.5bn worth of products carrying the Red Tractor logo over the last 12 months - over one third of which has occurred over the last quarter. The logo now appears on more than £7bn worth of UK food.
Seventy-four food-related businesses have joined the scheme since 2006 and there has also been a significant growth in the number of own-label foods carrying the logo, claimed AFS.
Also, some major branded products began featuring the Red Tractor logo in 2007. These included Nestlé Shredded Wheat, McCain Chips and Bernard Matthews products. The Red Tractor also featured prominently in a major advertising campaign for one of its licensees - Dairy Crest, which makes Country Life Butter.
“This is all great news for British farmers,” said an AFS spokesperson. “Demand is increasing from manufacturers, producers, food retailers and foodservice businesses, which indicates that they see the benefits the Red Tractor scheme offers.”
There are 78,000 farmers and growers approved to the Red Tractor scheme in the UK. These account for between 66% and 95% of output in the main commodity sectors, according to AFS.