A pink bus trying to promote EU pork to UK consumers is currently touring the country.
The bus – carrying the slogans ‘Pork lovers – 100 per cent European pork’ and ‘Enjoy, it’s from Europe’ – has been spotted in a number of places over the past few days, including Edinburgh, Sheffield and Leeds.
The ‘Pork Lovers Tour’ originates from Spain, currently the fastest growing of the major EU pork nations and clearly with an eye on expanding its market reach. Ironically, as the UK seeks to untangle itself from the EU, the whole venture is funded by Brussels in a bid to promote ‘pork white meat’.
It is the initiative of Spanish pork industry body Interporc, which describes itself as the ‘most important Trade Organisation of the meat sector by volume of pork production in Spain’.
The bus was spotted in Leeds this week by Julia Lister (who took the photo, above), wife of the NPA’s chairman Richard Lister. “She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing,” said Richard. “And the fact that is funded from Brussels is certainly interesting – are they trying to get their retaliation in first?
“We are all for promoting the taste and benefits of pork. That said, if they think they are going to persuade the good people of this country to switch away from British pork – which is, of course, the tastiest in the world and produced to the very highest standards – then this will be another waste of EU money!”
Raising awareness
The Pork Lovers website gives a little more insight. “It’s a Road Show that will visit strategic places in the UK and Spain and that we have organised, financed by the European Union, with the objective of raising awareness of pork white meat,” it explained.
“Our bus will visit these towns developing activities for everyone like housewives/house husbands, children, catering schools, etc, with cooking courses, information workshops on the nutritional value of this meat so as to encourage a healthy lifestyle which is very present in the Spanish Mediterranean diet.”
This EU pork marketing initiative comes as AHDB’s latest marketing campaign for British pork, focusing on pork medallions as tasty, convenient midweek meal option, is currently featuring on our television screens.
This includes an in-store sticker campaign directing consumers to the new-look consumer website www.lovepork.co.uk for pork recipe inspiration.
