SuperValu, one of Ireland’s leading community supermarkets, expects to sell 218,000 Irish hams with a retail value of €3.1m over the 2013 Christmas period.
Customers can now pre-order these 100 per cent Irish hams from SuperValu outlets nationwide where they are available in-store now.
Supplied by Irish supplier Oliver Carty Ltd, all SuperValu branded whole fresh hams are 100 per cent Irish and Bord Bia quality assured.
According to the supermarket, it has always been committed to using 100 per cent Irish pigmeat and this year it became the first retailer in the country to have access to the world’s first national DNA database for pigs, developed by IdentiGEN.
SuperValu uses this system on all of its rashers, ham and bacon, both prepack and over the counter, to provide the consumer with a further guarantee that these products have been born and bred in Ireland, from pigs specifically reared to deliver exceptional quality and taste.
Commenting on the announcement, Martin Kelleher, managing director, SuperValu, said: “At SuperValu, we believe in providing our customers with quality fresh food they can really trust and we are delighted to offer them the very best Irish ham this Christmas. The IdentiGEN DNA Traceback system provides customers with absolute confidence that SuperValu ham and other bacon products are fully traceable through all stages of the supply chain.”
“This partnership with established Irish supplier Oliver Carty Ltd reinforces SuperValu’s support for Irish suppliers who, such as SuperValu retailers, are embedded in the community which they serve,” Kelleher added.
Ted Carty of Oliver Carty Ltd said: ”We are committed to producing the highest quality 100 per cent Irish hams for Christmas dinners across Ireland. We work with some of the finest Irish farmers to ensure that we get the best product in the market and SuperValu provides the perfect network of 201 stores for shoppers to pick up one of our hams. Christmas is an important time of year for Irish farmers and Irish suppliers. We work hard throughout the year to ensure our produce is top quality and that our hams guarantee a very tasty Christmas dinner.”
Pictured SuperValu’s Firhouse butcher Alan Walker