Asda is introducing new ­labels to some packs of its Butcher’s Selection steaks to make it clearer when it comes from Uruguay not the UK.

The move comes after the retailer was criticised by the NFU for using the name ‘Hereford’ on packs of beef imported from Uruguay. Hereford refers to a breed of cattle, but the NFU said consumers might mistake it for a declaration of origin.

The labels, introduced by Asda last weekend, now read ‘Uruguayan Hereford’. Asda said only a small proportion of the range was imported but it had amended labels to be “even clearer” about the steaks’ origin.

NFU head of food chain Lee Woodger welcomed the new label and said it was a good example of clear origin labelling.

Woodger added that the NFU also planned to write to the BRC to ask it to improve its voluntary code on country-of-origin labelling to ensure similar instances were avoided in the future.

Topics