Finnie unveils venison quality assurance Wild venison is the latest Scottish food product to come with a quality assured label. A new assurance scheme, Scottish Quality Wild Venison, was formally launched at the Royal Highland Show by Ross Finnie, Scottish minister for environment and rural affairs. Finnie announced the award of a grant under SEERAD’s market development scheme of £292,000 over three years to assist with the costs of managing the scheme. In a joint venture between Forest Enterprise, the Association of Deer Management Groups, the Scottish Game Dealers and Processors Association and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, wild venison will now be subjected to a programme of independently assessed and inspected quality standards. The standards address such issues as food safety, environment and animal welfare, and will provide full traceability for trade and consumers of all venison in the assurance scheme, an expected 20,000 carcases in the first year. Scotland produces more than 100,000 deer carcases annually. The value of the Scottish venison market is estimated at £4.5m.
July 1 2003 disqualification date for cattle and lambs born beyond the border Scotch will be scarcer as QMS goes for tighter rules Scotch beef and lamb are now almost certain to become scarcer commodities from summer next year, Quality Meat Scotland having confirmed it is pressing ahead with a controversial plan to restrict eligibility for the national label. Scotch Day will probably be July 1 2003, according to QMS md Alasdair Muir, who has provoked strong criticism from within the meat industry (but is supported by the Scottish Executive) for campaigning to disqualify cattle and lambs born outside Scotland. Muir’s opponents point out Scotland’s livestock and meat sector has for thousands of years imported for finishing young stock from breeders in England, Wales and Ireland, and the critics claim the farming and processing infrastructure could be blighted by overcapacity if denied this raw material. But QMS cites market research conducted since announcement of its strategy in March, indicating “consumers feel strongly that if something has Scotch on the packaging, the product must be 100% born, raised and slaughtered in Scotland”. Muir acknowledges there could be problems: “In making this change, we are taking measures to ensure that disruption within the industry is kept to an absolute minimum. “The work undertaken since March with consumers has shown clearly that the status quo is not an option”. He emphasised that the application to the European Commission for redefining the Scotch beef and lamb Protected Geographical Indication did not imply farmers and processors would be prohibited from using stock purchased south of the border or in Ireland; they would simply not be allowed to use the Scotch label. Producers and slaughterers nevertheless fear they will suffer because cattle and beef identified as Scotch traditionally command premium prices in the marketplace. Without the Scotch label, prices would be expected to fall to English or Irish levels.
Scarcity might ease Scarcity of beef cattle in Scotland may ease in the coming months suggests Anglo Beef Processors md Richard Cracknell. ABP, major supplier to Asda and Sainsbury, was affected like its rivals by the shortages north of the border last winter but sees evidence of improving availability on farm. “An awful lot of stores [young cattle for further fattening before slaughter] went from England to Scotland in the early part of this year,” Cracknell pointed out when discussing market prospects at the Royal Show. Others in the industry agree abattoir operators in Scotland will find throughput targets easier to meet as these cattle reach killing weights, supplementing supplies from the shrinking local breeding herd.
Scots haulage set for quality agreement Quality Meat Scotland has confirmed that discussions are at an advanced stage with the Scottish livestock haulage industry to agree a code to ensure transportation of cattle, pigs and lambs is quality assured. The Specially Selected Scotch Haulage Assurance Scheme’ is to be launched at the end of January 2002. Keith Redpath, chairman of the Hauliers’ Technical Advisory Committee, said: “We already adhere to very stringent rules and regulations, but the Scottish haulage industry wants to play its part in ensuring that meat from Scotland is the best in the world.” The code includes guidance on driver training, driving, stock density, loading and unloading animals, condition and cleanliness of vehicles. Membership of the scheme is voluntary but QMS is confident of universal support. It is fee based annually and there will be an annual inspection. Quality Meat Scotland is to invest more than £1.5m in promotion over the coming year to ensure consumers throughout the UK are aware of the quality measures taken by the Scottish meat industry.
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