Tesco has been criticised by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) for using fictional farms in its branding for it’s Everyday Value range.
It is seeking assurance that Tesco’s new branding on selected food products is accurately and clearly labelled as British.
NFU Chief Food Chain adviser Ruth Mason said that it’s vital that shoppers have accurate, clear labelling on the origin of any British food or drink product in order to make an informed choice about what they are buying.
“We recognise that Tesco has chosen to brand these products with fictional farm names – a marketing technique practiced in Aldi and Lidl on selected product lines.”
There will inevitably be shoppers who are led to believe that the fictional names of the farms are the real source of the product – this makes the need for clear and accurate origin labelling even greater.
Mason said that the NFU believes that connecting both children and adults with where their food comes from is extremely important – this all starts with the NFU’s Back British Farming campaign.
“The NFU has invested in Why Farming Matters education packs for primary school teachers and it regularly talks to its 26,000 Back British Farming supporters about what is going on in the farming sector.”
Meanwhile, a Tesco spokesperson said that the retailers seven new brands offer customers great quality fresh food at outstanding value.
“We’ve named the brands after farms to represent the quality specifications that go into every product across the range.”
Some of the names – Nightingale, Redmere and Rosedene – have historically been operating farms and have been selected in partnership with our suppliers.
“In all cases, the fresh food being sold under our new brands is sourced from a selection of farms and growers – some are small, family-run farms while others are of a larger scale.”
The spokesperson said that every product has been reared or grown to specific standards from known and audited farms and growers.