Previously, PVS membership was only required for vets carrying out Real Welfare assessments. The change was announced earlier this year as part of a review of the assurance scheme’s standards, alongside various other changes intended to ensure responsible use of antibiotics and a strengthening of the animal medicine standards.

The changes also require vets to declare they will only prescribe antibiotics for use on Red Tractor pig units in accordance with the PVS Prescribing Principles for Antimicrobials. Another major change will make it compulsory to record quarterly antibiotic usage on the eMB-Pigs database.

Red Tractor technical manager Joanna King said: “Ensuring every Red Tractor registered vet is a PVS member will help keep them abreast of the most recent version of the Prescribing Principles, along with other guidelines and publications.”

Assessors undertaking Red Tractor farm assessments can verify whether the retained farm vet is a current PVS member through their membership number which is required on the quarterly veterinary report forms. Membership numbers can be checked against an online PVS membership checker.

The full set of changes to Red Tractor pork rules from this October can be viewed here

Latest figures suggest that the common sandwich filling is no longer as beloved as it once was: British homeowners are throwing away 1.9 million slices every day, writes Jack Young. This is adding up to more than £170 million every year, according to the latest from WRAP figures, a programme that aims to help individuals, businesses and local authorities reduce waste and make better use of resources.

In an attempt to solve the problem, Sainsbury’s has introduced its Smart Fresh label, which changes the colour from yellow to purple to indicate how long the pack has been open. As an open pack of ham has its longest fridge-life when kept below five degrees Celsius, the new label is temperature sensitive, so the rate at which the colour of the label changes is designed to decrease depending on how cool the fridge is.

Jane Skelton, head of packaging at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’ve all been there: when we’ve found a pack of ham loitering on the bottom shelf of the fridge and can’t remember how long it’s been opened for. With sliced ham in fridges up and down the country – we wanted to find a way to reduce waste of this family favourite while helping customers save money with the new Smart Fresh technology.”

To support Sainsbury’s Waste less, Save more initiative, the supermarket is trialling the new technology on its own-brand by Sainsbury’s seven-slice cooked ham, which is now available across all of its stores in the UK. The Waste less, Save more plan is a £10m, five-year campaign to encourage customers, and also communities, around the UK to reduce the amount of food they waste.

Georgina has just returned from the latest leg of her Nuffield Scholarship, which included visits to Singapre, the Philippines and China, where she had the opportunity to visit a number of grocery outlets in Shanghai, including high-end supermarket City Super.

“Their fresh meat counter housed a well-presented array of pork and beef from Australia, New Zealand, USA and UK, all clearly labelled with their country of orig a visit to the country as part of her Nuffield scholarship,” Georgina wrote on her Nuffield blog.

“I was proud to find outdoor-bred British pork belly and chops in prime position and accompanied by an information poster explaining the conditions in which the pigs were raised,” she said.

It was ‘crystal clear’, she added, that imported food products are much more desirable to Chinese consumers than home-grown produce on the back of domestic food scandals and burgeoning interest in Western culture and brands.

“If you are a known brand, or have a good story to tell, then you will do well in China,” Georgina said, adding that it was striking how much prominence is given to pork in retail meat cabinets.

You can read more on the NPA website and on Georgina’s Nuffield blog, which can be viewed here and also covered the issue of brand theft in China.

She concluded: “It is well known that Chinese people have an affinity for all things British; post-Brexit this is something that we really need to unashamedly make the most of in China.

“But this also highlights the serious issue that is the copycat culture in China. You can never be sure that distributors in China won’t simply steal your logo, flag, brand or technology to market their own produce.

“It is absolutely essential, therefore, that businesses accessing the Chinese market police their own intellectual property in order to safeguard their brand and protect their market-share.”

China influence 

China accounts for a more than quarter of all global pork imports and is now the UK’s biggest export destination by volume.

Last year, UK pork exports to China increased by 47% and were worth £74 million. However, EU pork exports to China fell by 18% in the first four months of 2017, figures from Eurostat show. April shipments, in particular, were reduced to a half of 2016 levels. China still accounted for nearly 40% of the total, however.

Despite some efforts to increase domestic production, one of the key messages from June’s Pigs 2022 conference in Solihull was that China, because of its appetite for imported product but also the costs associated with domestic production, will continue to import vast quantities of pigmeat in the years ahead.

Compared with 2012, 20,000 fewer tonnes of pork was sold in 2016, with the decline being accelerated in the last two years, despite falling pork prices. Much of this decline is thought to be due to a fall in the number of households buying pork during the course of the year. Reducing this decline and adding value to the cuts purchased is key for the UK pork industry, as most fresh pork sold by retailers comes from domestic pigs.

With this in mind, AHDB Pork is launching a new marketing campaign in the autumn, which focuses on the promotion of pork for the midweek meal occasion. The fully integrated marketing campaign, which will combine PR, social media, activity in supermarket stores, as well as TV and online advertising, will demonstrate the versatility, ease of cooking and great taste of pork loin and fillet medallions, as an ideal midweek meal – disrupting a midweek market which is currently dominated by chicken breasts.

This was one percentage point greater than April and 11% higher than May 2016. The main driver for the three-and-a-half year high is, of course higher prices, with average May farmgate prices up 2.6% on April and a massive 36.6% on the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, retail prices fell 0.6% in May against the previous month, but remained 0.5% above May 2016.

Price picture 

However, the overall price picture is more complicated, with prices up over the year and the latest three-month period. And despite the positive market position, which is being largely driven by tight supplies and high export demand, the domestic retail demand picture remains largely flat, volumes continuing to fall.

The short-term fall in retail pork prices in May was largely due to lower prices for loin steaks, boneless leg and boneless shoulders all falling by 1%, according to AHDB data. Most other cuts remained static, namely, fillet end leg, loin chops, diced pork, minced pork and traditional pork sausages. The only cut to record an increase in price was fillet of pork, which rose by 2% on the previous month.

Over the longer term, there was more movement in the prices of pork cuts. Diced pork and loin chops rose by 2% and 3% respectively on May 2016. Boneless leg increased by 1% and fillet end leg went up by 4%.

Fillet of pork recorded a greater price increase, up on a year earlier by 7%. Meanwhile, minced pork showed no movement, the value of traditional pork sausages fell by 3% and loin steaks were 7% lower in price than in May 2016.

Separate data provided by Kantar Worldpanel showed volumes of fresh and frozen pork sold by UK retailers in the 12 weeks ending May 21 fell by 1.3%,

But total spend was up by 1.6% over the three month period, reflecting price inflation which has been seen across all red meats, as consumers start to feel the pinch. Fresh and frozen pork saw prices rise 2.9% year on year.

The onset of the barbecue season has affected pork demand, with roasting joints suffering accordingly, particularly shoulders (sales down 24%), not helped by the fact that these cuts have also seen the greatest rise in prices.

Sausages have been selling well, 1.3% higher despite being 2.1% more expensive.  Bacon prices have hardly changed and they too have performed relatively well, with sales up 2.3%. The largest single sector by value is sliced, cooked meats, which is one of the few areas where prices have actually fallen and has seen increases in both sales volume (3.2%) and value (1.5%).

The label has the backing of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA) but the National Pig Association (NPA) has urged caution, warning that it ‘must not be used as a gimmick just to sell pork’.

The labels will appear for the first time this month in-store and online on Dry Cured Smoked Back Bacon, Dry Cured Unsmoked Back Bacon and Dry Cured Smoked Streaky Bacon on sale at Morrisons, Tesco, Ocado, Costco, Nisa, Budgens, Spar & Amazon Fresh. It is available from £3.

The pork is marketed by a company called spoiltpig, which has marketed high welfare pork to retailers for a number of years. It comes from RSPCA Assured pigs produced by Brydock Farms, which is owned by Karro.

Under the new system, pigs will be treated for antibiotics when necessary, usually on an individual basis. Any treated pigs will then be sold separately under a Freedom Food label, but will not carry the antibiotic label.

 Farming system

spoiltpig said 85-90% of the pigs raised receive no antibiotics. The farming system has been devised to ensure the pigs are not mixed in ages, which it said avoids illness through the benefits of a late weaning period.

Piglets are farrowed outdoors, brought indoors at weaning age and then kept at low stocking densities on deep-straw bedding and with natural ventilation. There is no tail docking or teeth clipping.

Brydock farms said it was working to phase out zinc oxide in anticipation of the forthcoming ban at EU level and had begun trials where the piglets are fed zinc oxide-free diets.

spoiltpig managing director Jim Loescher said: “The launch was born out of spoiltpig’s concern regarding the global issue relating to antibiotic resistance and how farming impacts this.

“We believe in farming responsibly and always strive to do the right thing. That’s why we are launching the UK’s first Raised Without Antibiotics bacon and gammon range – easily identified by our blue Raised Without Antibiotics swing tag.”

ASOA said the initiative shows how major improvements in animal husbandry and welfare can ‘greatly contribute to reducing farm antibiotic use, while still delivering affordable meat’.

“The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics hopes that the pig industry will learn from the new system which shows that responsible farming can both promote animal health and welfare and help protect the future of antibiotics.” 

The alliance stressed, however, that it did not endorse ‘antibiotic-free’ meat labels and production systems, which have seen in the US. It said these can put animal health and welfare at risk when treatment is not provided when it is needed.

ASOA said the term ‘antibiotic-free’ can also mislead the consumer into thinking the main problem with antibiotics in livestock is the residues that end up in food.

NPA response 

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: “We have always believed this sort of labelling is inevitable in the UK but the key point from our point of view is that it must not be used as a gimmick just to sell a product.

“We are pleased that, in this case, animals can still be treated with antibiotics but we are concerned that consumers will be confused. We need to emphasise that all meat is antibiotic free – we must avoid any impression that by eating meat, consumers will could somehow be exposed to harmful antibiotic residues.”

“There is a very positive story around antibiotic usage in the pig sector. Overall usage is falling year-on-year, including significant reductions in critically important antibiotics, while huge strides have been made in recording antibiotic usage data via the eMB-Pigs database, which will become a Red Tractor scheme requirement this autumn.

“There is a major educational campaign underway and encouraging work to find alternatives to antibiotics is underway. All parts of the industry are working together on this and, collectively, we are up for meeting the challenge of new long-term antibiotic reduction targets, due to be announced this autumn.”

The changes follow the latest three-yearly scheme review by the Red Tractor committee of farmers, retailers, vets and other industry experts to ‘ensure assured food is produced in a way that consumers value and demand’.

eMb-Pigs: One of the headline amendments is the requirement for producers to upload total antibiotic use to the electronic medicine book (eMB-Pigs) on a quarterly basis within six weeks of the end of each quarter. From November 11, scheme members will need to have entered data from the second and third quarters of 2017. Data for 2015 covering about two-thirds of the national herd has already been reported online, according to AHDB Pork figures.

Responsible use of medicines: In addition to the e-MB requirement, all vets treating assured herds must be members of the Pig Veterinary Society. Vets are required to sign a quarterly declaration to confirm they are prescribing antibiotics in accordance with the PVS Prescribing Principles for Antimicrobials. Class 3 antibiotic use must be justified in the veterinary health plan.

Notching: Routine multiple ear notching is not allowed. The practice can only be used as a last resort in pedigree breeding where pig colouring prevents tattooing and only with a recommendation from a vet.

Rodenticide use: Vermin control has been strengthened to allow assured producers to continue to buy professional rodenticides without the need and cost of further training. Permanent baiting must not be routinely undertaken and baits can only be sited where evidence shows they are being continuously effective. A site survey and risk assessment of watercourses and populations of non-target species should also be carried out and recorded before treatment.

Imported stock and semen testing: Imported stock and semen must be tested in line with the NPA’s Imports Protocol for non-statutory diseases, with a statement signed by a vet.

Biosecurity: The farm’s biosecure areas must be defined on a map and all visitor entry points must have disinfectant foot dips or boot cleaners. Staff and visitors must wear clean clothes and footwear in biosecure areas of the farm.

Supplementary rearing accommodation: If a piglet has to be removed from the sow for its own welfare before 21 days, a vet must confirm that the management of any supplementary rearing accommodation is satisfactory.

 Feed and water: An action plan needs to be created for dealing with unweaned piglets over two weeks of age where the sow’s milk may not satisfy the piglets’ water needs and where water is not continuously available. In growing and finishing units, drinkers integral to a wet and dry feeding system are not counted as a separate water source. Non-mains water must be independently tested every year.

Environment: The environmental protection section has no significant changes but is now more appropriate for livestock farmers and has been divided in to two areas; the responsible use of agri-chemicals and nutrient management.

• Pig producers will be receiving copies of the scheme’s revised assurance standards in July.

A new Government-backed welfare label based on a three-tier labelling scheme run by the Danish government, some supermarkets and the DAAC is being launched at the end of May (the picture above shows the March launch event, credit: Peter Prik Larsen).

Called Better Animal Welfare, its aim is to raise the welfare standards at Danish farms and provide consumers with greater transparency.

Prior to the launch, the DAAC said the standard of animal welfare was not currently evident from a packet of meat sold in a supermarket. The new label will help consumers gain a better insight into the production conditions that went into producing the meat, it said.

“The aim is to inform consumers about the conditions under which the animals were kept during primary production. New surveys from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council show that two out of three consumers in Denmark wish to be better informed about animal welfare during their supermarket shopping,” the DAAC said.

It cited an EU survey ‘revealing that the Danes are particularly willing to pay extra for animal welfare-friendly products’. Only consumers in Sweden, Holland and Luxembourg show a greater willingness to do so, the DAAC said.

Despite this high level of willingness, the reality is different when consumers come to make their shopping choice, according to a new survey carried out by Gallup on behalf of the council.

A  total of 2,982 Danes were asked what criteria they used to make their most recent purchase and just 6% cited animal welfare as one of the parameters.

“Danes currently opt for meat from Denmark when they want meat that carries good animal welfare credentials. But ‘Danish՚ covers many qualities other than welfare, for example, food safety and short transport times,” the DAAC added.

About the new welfare label

The label is a three-tiered scheme whereby meat that meets the most rigorous requirements carries three hearts. lt is based on five basic pig production requirements, which exceed current legislative requirements. In order to qualify for it, farmers must comply with the following criteria:

• Sows must be loose-housed;
• The pigs must have curly tails – no tail docking and no tail biting;
• More straw for rooting and manipulable material and for nest building;
• More space;
• Maximum transport time – 8 hours

Launched in 2000, the Red Tractor logo was established in the wake of the many food scares of the 1990s, including BSE, to reassure consumers over the reliability and safety of British food.

With more than 60,000 members, under Mr Clarke’s leadership, Red Tractor has become the UK’s, if not the world’s, leading farm assurance scheme and a key selling point for British primary products, Red Tractor said.

Mr Clarke said: “In Red Tractor, the UK farming industry has an assurance scheme that it can be really proud of.

“Major food and drink businesses use it as an intrinsic part of their sourcing policies and it is viewed positively by consumers who say it influences their shopping decisions.

“More than £14bn of food carried the Red Tractor logo on it last year. Government agencies also recognise the quality of the scheme, meaning Red Tractor farmers get fewer regulatory inspections.

“Establishing such a robust scheme which has to constantly evolve has not been without its challenges but I am leaving the organisation in great shape for the future.”

Mr Clarke will be replaced by Jim Moseley (left) – currently the assurance scheme’s chairman – later this month. He brings with him a wealth of food industry experience from a career which has spanned FMC (Meat) Ltd, Tulip, General Mills and, most recently, Mizkan.

He has also presided over both the Food & Drink Federation and the Provision Trade Federation.

Mr Moseley said he was delighted to be leading Red Tractor on the next phase of its development.

“David Clarke has done an outstanding job establishing and developing a comprehensive and robust assurance scheme which has been adopted and supported by the whole food chain,” he said.

“Looking to the future and particularly the uncertainties around Brexit, we must protect and promote British agriculture by ensuring consumers and buyers understand and value the exceptionally high standards which our farmers and growers deliver.”

Under its draft strategy, AHDB Pork has committed an extra £1m to marketing British pork over the next three years, with the extra funding weighted heavily towards 2017.

The autumn campaign will be a follow-up to the successful Pulled Pork campaign, the last phase of which ran last April.

Whereas it was aimed at weekend meals, the new campaign will target the lucrative midweek market, AHDB Pork strategy director Mick Sloyan told the NPA South Central spring regional meeting in Newbury on Tuesday.

“We had been waiting on Defra to give us the nod for a campaign that is going to be run in September. That has now been done and we are pressing on,” he said.

“This time we are going to try and tackle the midweek market. We are looking at the loin steak, with a bit of fat around the edge. It won’t be the only thing we go with.”

He added that the loin market was the biggest by volume for the pork sector in the UK. “But if you talk to the processors, it is one of the hardest to make a margin on, which is one of the reasons we are focusing in that area,” he added.

Mr Sloyan said there was a ‘huge amount’ of work to be done, including ‘lining up the retailers and the processors’, but said conversations so far have gone well.

He added that improving consistency in the product, including the thickness, would be part of the campaign, which would include a strong focus on eating quality.

Despite the upward curve in prices over the past year, demand for pigmeat products has remained static, at best, with fresh pork, in particular, struggling to keep pace with other proteins, notably chicken and beef. AHDB consumer research has suggested pork lags behind its competitors on some key measures, such as taste, tenderness, versatility and ease of cooking.

The campaign will seek to address those perceptions. Mr Sloyan highlighted research showing how consumers valued chicken as something to put in the fridge as something they can turn to at any time without necessarily knowing what they are going to do with it’.

“We need to try and get and get into that position,” he said.