Latest news with #Britishfarming
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Waitrose rules out American beef and chicken despite US trade deal
Waitrose has ruled out buying American beef and chicken as it insisted it would stand 'shoulder to shoulder with our farmers' after Sir Keir Starmer's US trade deal. The supermarket said it would not undermine its animal welfare standards and planned to continue to source its own-brand beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk from British farms. British and US officials last week agreed to cut tariffs on US beef imports, prompting fears the UK market could be flooded with American meat products that undercut British-made products. The UK Government has insisted there will be no watering down of food safety standards to allow products such as hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken into British stores. Peter Navarro, Donald Trump's trade tsar, last week called European food standards a 'phoney tool used to suppress what is very fine American agricultural product'. The US trade deal allows gives American farmers a quota to import 13,000 tonnes of beef that meets UK welfare standards. But supermarket bosses have sought to distance themselves from the agreement, pledging to maintain commitments to source products like beef from British cattle. On Friday, Jake Pickering, head of agriculture at Waitrose, said: 'We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number-one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming. 'All of our own-brand fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk are sourced from British farmers to high welfare standards – and we have raised the bar for customers with the Better Chicken Commitment and introduction of our new welfare labelling. 'We're standing shoulder to shoulder with our farmers and backing better standards.' Ken Murphy, the chief executive of Tesco, this week said Britain's biggest supermarket group would not source beef from the US and would maintain its policy of sourcing 100pc of its beef from the UK and Ireland. 'We're not planning to change it,' he said. Aldi, meanwhile, said it would continue to solely source its 'core' range of meat from British farms, while Co-op also said it was committed to sourcing 100pc British fresh and frozen meat. Dalton Philips, the chief executive of Dublin-based Greencore, a food supplier, told The Telegraph this week its supermarket customers were concerned about food standards. He said: 'They will do a lot of in-depth research before they start introducing proteins where there may possibly be some anxiety from the consumer, and we work very closely with them. 'British food resilience is absolutely key. We need to produce more in the UK, and eat more from the UK.'
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Aldi pledges to keep sourcing meat from British farms after US trade deal
Aldi has pledged to continue sourcing all of its core fresh beef, pork and poultry from British farms and maintain its existing food standards amid ongoing UK-US trade talks. Giles Hurley, Aldi UK and Ireland's chief executive, said the supermarket will not drop food safety and welfare standards even if current regulations are watered down to secure international agreements. Agriculture has been a key part of the preliminary trade deal struck between the UK and US last week, which sees tariffs reduced on US products including beef in return for moves that help British cars and steel. UK ministers have insisted there will be no downgrade in British food standards, which have been a significant barrier to entry for US-reared meat, including hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken. But concerns remain that the US will push the UK to accept American products with lower standards and weaken British standards to ensure closer regulatory alignment as trade talks continue. Mr Hurley said: 'British farming is known for its high welfare, food safety and environmental standards and we know how important that is to our customers. 'That's why 100% of our everyday fresh beef, pork and poultry is sourced from British farms, and why we're guaranteeing that we won't lower our standards even if others do. 'This isn't just about food safety. It's about protecting British farmers and doing the right thing for our customers.' Aldi's policies include sourcing 100% of its core fresh beef, pork, poultry, milk and eggs from British farms, which are Red Tractor-approved. It comes after Tesco's chief executive Ken Murphy said the supermarket would not source beef from the US, saying it would stick to its current policy of sourcing 100% Irish and British beef. On a visit to London this week, US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters she would like to see the UK and US more aligned on food standards regulations to help remove trade barriers and open up the market to more products. The US official met with Government ministers to promote more American agricultural products, including pork, poultry, seafood, rice and specialty crops.
