RED TRACTOR SCHEMEMANAGING & PROMOTING ASSURANCE

FOR THE FOOD CHAIN

Core activities

Define the standards

Identify assured product

Ensure conformance

Communicate attributes to consumers

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AFS - Owned By The Food Chain

NFU (England & Wales)

Ulster Farmers Union

Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board

Dairy UK

British Retail Consortium

Links: Food & Drink Federation

Six Major Commodity Sectors

Cattle/Sheep

Pigs

Chicken & Turkeys

Dairy

Crops

Fresh Produce

Not eggs - Lion Egg Code

Assured Food Standards (AFS) an independent not-for-profit organisation

Standards

Standards:

• Food safety and hygiene

• Animal welfare

• Environmental protection

Based on:

• EU / UK legislation

• Codes of Good Agricultural practice

Standards harness the best expertise in the UK

Checked at every critical stage across the food

chain - 60,000 inspections undertaken every year

Red Tractor = whole chain assured Every critical link in the supply chain e.g. pigs

Certified farms

Certified livestock transport

Certified slaughter & processing plants

Certified stock

Certified feed

Red Tractor = whole chain assured Every critical link in the supply chain e.g. cattle

Certified farms

Certified livestock transport

Certified markets

Certified feed

Certified slaughter & processing plants

£8 billion (rsv) +60% in 3 years

Strong consumer interest in food quality and where it comes from

Supported by: farming bodies, Government, food retailers, leading fmcg brands and

food service operators

Over 400 leading packers and processors licensed to use the logo

Leading quality kitemark for British food and drink

Red Tractor logo underpinning major brands

“All our Bally Manor chicken & Strathvale fresh and processed pork and beef is 100% British and approved by Assured Food

Standards”

Brands & Food Service

Where next?

Farm standards• harmonisation across the commodity sectors

For: Consistency across the AFS family of schemes Consistency behind the common Red Tractor Logo More efficient integrated inspections of mixed farms

Progressing well - completed during 2009

Some enhancements to standards in parallel • further tightening on feed controls• remove assurance anomalies around beef from dairy herds

“Harmonisation” of internal organisation to match

Avoid unnecessary duplication of inspections

Avoid duplication of industry inspections Assured farms considered ‘lower risk’ by regulatory inspectors

• already in place since 2007 – food hygiene inspections (FSA)– (but not yet applicable to Dairy farms)

• work in progress– animal health & welfare (DEFRA)– PPC regulations pig and poultry farms (Environment Agency)

More frequent inspections than regulatory bodies Can act quickly and decisively against non-conformers (deny market

access)

“If anything was likely to have encouraged William Tudor to get his act together on food hygiene, it would have been the direct threat of failing to secure, or

losing, what was a very significant contract.”

Red Tractor Logo only used under licence since launch in 2000

Licensing rules and conditions apply

• include access to site and records for inspection

Routine programme of audits commissioned by AFS

• of All licensees to validate correct use of logo

Integrated with other on-site audits, e.g. BRC

• for efficiency and to avoid duplication

In future - greater transparency of reporting of inspection outcomes

• e.g. trend analysis of farm inspections & benchmarking

Integrity of Red Tractor logo

Origin labelling of meat

Origin - Place of farming or place of processing? Red Tractor Logo includes secondary statement of origin in the flag

• ‘Origin’ is the place of farming• Red Tractor rules are totally consistent with Food Standards Agency

guidelines

The AFS integrity programme validates the claim

The Union Flag in the Red Tractor logo means that the meat has come from a UK farm

“Made in the Republic of Ireland from Imported Beef”

£8 billion (rsv) +60% in 3 years

Used by all major food retailers in the UK

Increasingly by brands and food service operators

Building penetration of Red Tractor logo

PR and promotions

Consumer media information service

Marketing and CommunicationsNew opportunities with AHDB

1. Use the Red Tractor logo to identify quality assured food

• including the secondary statement of origin

2. Motivate shoppers to buy Red Tractor food

3. Deliver value to the food chain

4. A single logo to avoid confusion

• synergies outweigh the threats

Developing strategies with AHDB

(pending State Aids approval)

Summary

Identified current priorities & challenges Assurance schemes & the Red Tractor logo are well established

• better integration of technical standards across agricultural sectors will provide a solid platform for future development

• partnership with AHDB gives a new opportunity for stronger consumer communications

Red Tractor logo means assured standards at every critical point in the supply chain

• validated by strong integrity programmes

Avoid a confusing plethora of schemes and logos The Red Tractor scheme only works if whole food chain gets behind it