RED TRACTOR LEADS THE WAY IN FOOD STANDARDS

The quality of the food we eat - and what we feed our children - is of increasing importance as we become more aware of the dangers of harmful hidden additives.

Consumers demand traceability, minimised pesticide residues and high animal welfare standards in livestock production to ensure food is safe from the farm to the table.

“Red Tractor’s standards are set above the legal minimum and are based on scientific understanding to ensure food safety from farm to fork, so that it is safe, traceable, and farmed with care.”

The Red Tractor quality mark which sets effective, internationally recognised production standards for food produced in Britain celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. It was created to rebuild trust in British Agriculture after a spate of food scares, and around 75 per cent of UK agricultural output is now Red Tractor assured – which means about £14 billion of British produced food and drink carry the logo. Backed by farmers and growers, food producers, processors and packers who are independently inspected to ensure they meet high standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection, Red Tractor’s standards are set above the legal minimum and are based on scientific understanding to ensure food safety from farm to fork, so that it is safe, traceable, and farmed with care. The rules are designed to keep diseases like E. coli out of farms – for example by requiring the use of water that is fit for human consumption on crops and fresh produce like lettuce – in order to protect consumers from food scares.

Consumer Confidence in the Food Supply Chain

A survey by YouGov found that eight out of 10 UK adults admit to taking food safety for granted and the latest figures for foodborne illnesses in the UK are currently as low as 1.5%, compared with figures from the US figure of 17%. The Red Tractor standards are now an essential prerequisite to supplying major UK retailers, as well as many leading food service operators. Since the start of the pandemic, innovation has played a significant part in two key areas: • The introduction of a new digital platform to allow members to shift from a paper-based system, to secure online documents. • The development of an alternative system from physical farm visits, to live streamed audits, thereby allowing assessors to have ‘virtual eyes’ on farm. Both have been instrumental in allowing farmers to complete their assessments to either gain or maintain their assurance status throughout this period, whilst protecting the health of everyone involved in the chain. Since the roll out of the Red Tractor Portal to all members, and the launch of the remote assessments protocol in March, more than 10,000 farmers have been able to complete their assessments safely and effectively, maintaining consumer confidence in the food supply chain.

Visit www.redtractor.org.uk