Middle-market dairy processor Freshways has vowed to be stricter in auditing its suppliers after it sold non-Red Tractor milk from Northern Ireland as Red Tractor-certified.

The issue was uncovered during a routine inspection earlier this month by Assured Food Standards, which runs the Red Tractor scheme.

AFS chief executive David Clarke said the inspection, which was carried out unannounced, found “some raw material had gone into Red Tractor packs that was not appropriate”, adding the milk had subsequently been found to have come from Northern Ireland.

Freshways made headlines a few weeks ago when it was reported the company had been importing milk from Belgium. But Clarke said categorically that no milk from outside the UK milk had been found in Red Tractor packs at Freshways.

Shortcomings in a Red Tractor audit can potentially lead to companies losing the right to use the logo. But AFS has agreed to let Freshways continue to use it on the basis that the company introduce new procedures. Freshways will also be subject to more frequent audits, with AFS currently planning unannounced visits every six to eight weeks. Typically, Red Tractor licensees are inspected once a year.

Freshways has written to its customers to inform them of the issue. The letter, dated 14 September and seen by The Grocer, says it has undertaken an “immediate review” and can now “categorically assure you that all milk which carries the Red Tractor logo fully adheres to the Red Tractor scheme”.

It also stresses the non-assured milk found accounted for a very small proportion of the 4.5 million litres of milk Freshways processes on a weekly basis.

“On a normal week, this milk is sourced from farms which are directly contracted to Freshways,” the letter said. “All these farms are audited to a very high standard and are all ‘farm assured’ to the Red Tractor standard. There has been no concern raised in relation to the way this section of the business has been handled.”

However, Freshways sometimes had to buy in milk from external sources to balance its supplies on a week-to-week basis, the letter later explained.

“The quantity of milk purchased in this manner is very minimal and accounts for less than 5% of our volume at an absolute peak. It was with some of this that it was found that Freshways failed to ensure that the full integrity of the Red Tractor scheme was met.

“Though Freshways had received assurances from these suppliers that these products were from farms that met full ‘farm assured’ criteria, it is accepted by Freshways that they failed to fully audit these supplies and it was shown that these supplies were not from farms which had been certified/audited to a level which met the standards of the Red Tractor scheme.”

Freshways said it had immediately reviewed its procedures and would continue to work closely with the Red Tractor scheme.

AFS chief executive David Clarke said it had held “some good meetings” with Freshways and was satisfied the company would be “reliable” in its use of the Red Tractor logo from now on. He added an unannounced audit had already taken place earlier this week, which Freshways had passed.

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