Farrington’s MELLOW YELLOW

Definitely ANGEL!! We know our British cold-pressed rapeseed oil is natural and delicious and should be appreciated for its own merits. It is healthier than olive oil (containing half the saturated fat and 10 times the Omega 3) and more versatile thanks to its high smoke point. However, although it is equivalent in provenance to a single estate EVO, we do not claim to be “extra virgin” because we know that this is a term specific to olive oil.

Costa Coffee

Sinner

All over there shops there are references to being “Italian” when in fact there coffee beans are roasted in London. They are owned by Whitbread and if you click here you will an example on there website:-
http://www.costa.co.uk/coffee/the_coffee.aspx

“Traditional Irish Breakfast Tea”

Definitely a Sinner!
On the rear of the box it says “A blend of Indian and African teas”. Its blended and packaged in Massachussets, USA, and distributed in the UK by a firm from Essex. Nothing Irish there, so far as I can see, apart from the Kelly Green box, the picture of the croft and the fact that the US blenders are called “Shamrock Foods”.

Tea never has and never will grow in Ireland. The hypothetical residents of a small croft would have been extremely unlikely to have been able to have afforded tea, and therefore wouldnt have drunk it for breakfast or indeed any othe rmeal, and anyway for much of its European history, tea has been associated with the English and therefore would have been shunned by any self respecting Irishman.

Admittedly this came from the local Pound Shop!

San Marco Pepperoni Pizza

Bought from Tesco for only £1 without really looking, I know I should but was in a rush. Reading the label at home the company have removed the word ‘analogue’ from the front!
It does say cheese flavour analogue on the back but in a clear step designed to mislead the busy shopper they’ve taken it off the front!

Sainsbury’s Venison with Prunes Pate

Sinner, because it has twice as much pork as venison. Sainsbury’s claim that Venison is the main flavour and therefore has been named.

Basic Broccoli spears hurt your wallet

Value driven food categories across all the supermarkets have featured heavily throughout the recession as we are all looking for ways to save our hard earned pennies, but by opting for the cheaper value products, are you really getting value for money?  

It has been brought to our attention by one J Sainsbury’s shopper, Russell Bowes that the Sainsbury’s Basic broccoli is in fact more expensive than their loose head broccoli. Sainsbury’s basic broccoli is priced at £2.63 per Kg (31/01/10), however you may be surprised to hear that their loose head broccoli is cheaper at £1.97 per Kg (31/01/10) meaning better value is to be had when buying the loose head broccoli opposed to the basics. Russell informs us that this dramatic price variation of 66p per Kg is only evident on close inspection when examining what Russell describes as “conveniently coloured price labels” which makes it difficult to read the price per Kg.

When we compared these prices at Tesco (24/02/10), we found that Tesco value Broccoli was 18p per Kg cheaper than the Tesco loose head broccoli and 83p per Kg cheaper than J Sainsbury’s basics broccoli.

When Russell queried the price difference between the basic and loose head broccoli in J Sainsbury’s, he was told “Basics broccoli plants are perhaps not as good or perhaps thinner so it has to be cut up”. Russell queried this, the story then changed “the loose broccoli comes from Spain” – but according to Russell was again forced to change the story when it was pointed out that the “Country of Origin” on the Basics bag also said Spain. Sainsbury’s care line were unable to make sense of this subject when questioned by Russell.

A few days later Russell returned to Sainsbury’s to find what he describes as “a big sign up over the broccoli, one which had been designed to look like its written on a blackboard a la “farmers market” style” which said “British Broccoli – fresh and in season!”.  Russell then pointed out that every single solitary head of broccoli bagged or otherwise, was from Spain – the sign was taken down immediately. 

We have been informed that this sign has now been replaced by a large notice reminding people that they can use the broccoli stalk (the bit that remains after the florets have been trimmed off) “to add to soups and stews – so no waste!  Even better value!” surely this would only apply to the loose heads, rather than the “Basics” which is chopped into individual florets and doesn’t have any stalk? Russell describes J Sainsbury “as playing games with their consumers which is wrong!”

In response to Russell’s allegations of misleading labelling, Sainsbury’s Customer Manager said “The basics range broccoli comes prepared and packaged and therefore a price comparison with loose broccoli would give a misleading view.  Our basics range is cheaper compared to the equivalent Sainsbury’s packed broccoli florets but loose broccoli will be cheaper as it has not been prepared or pre-packaged” and that “the difference in price reflects the need for processing and packing the Basics broccoli”.

So buyers beware, shop around for the better value deals and do not be mislead.

British retailers use misleading chicken labels

Source: World Poultry http://tinyurl.com/yl4ckeb

British food companies are selling products that contain meat from foreign countries, but labeling them “British” or “traditional”, according to research done by the British newspaper The Independent.

Supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op sell some processed meals with ingredients sourced from overseas in a way that has raised complaints with customers.

A shepherd’s pie sold by Sainsbury’s as part of its British Classics range with a Union Jack on the packaging, is made with lamb from New Zealand. Another British Classics meal, Lancashire hotpot, also contains New Zealand lamb, along with Marks & Spencer’s “traditional favourite” shepherd’s pie.

All three list the meat’s country of origin somewhere on the packaging – unlike Birds Eye’s chicken dinner meal from its “British Traditional” range. The product carries a picture of rolling green fields reminiscent of the English countryside, but is made in a factory in the Republic of Ireland and contains intensively produced chicken from Thailand, says the report.

Birds Eye changed the product’s name from “Great British Menu” at the start of the year after complaints from members of the public. In small print on the back, the pack states the chicken comes from abroad but does not state its country of origin.

Rob Ward, founder of the Honest Food Labeling Campaign, said according to the Food Standards Agency, a food company cannot portray a product using words or images that misrepresent the food, so if they are using a scene of rolling countryside then that should imply those ingredients are from that scene.

Sainsbury’s insisted its labeling was “clear and transparent”.

‘British classics’ made with meat from the other side of the world

Campaigners say products on supermarket shelves are misleading customers

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Source: The Independent http://tinyurl.com/ya6u4fy

Food companies are selling products labelled “British” or “traditional” which contain meat from thousands of miles away, research for The Independent shows.

Supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op now stock more British meat, but some sell processed meals with ingredients sourced from overseas in a way that may jar with customers.

A shepherd’s pie sold by Sainsbury’s as part of its British Classics range with a Union Jack on the packaging, is made with lamb from New Zealand, 11,000 miles away. Another British Classics meal, Lancashire hotpot, also contains New Zealand lamb, along with Marks & Spencer’s “traditional favourite” shepherd’s pie.

All three list the meat’s country of origin somewhere on the packaging – unlike Birds Eye’s chicken dinner meal from its “British Traditional” range.

The product carries a picture of rolling green fields reminiscent of the English countryside, but is made in a factory in the Republic of Ireland and contains intensively produced chicken from Thailand, 6,000 miles away. Birds Eye changed the product’s name from “Great British Menu” at the start of the year after complaints from members of the public. In small print on the back, the pack states the chicken comes from abroad but does not state its country of origin.

Rob Ward, founder of the Honest Food Labelling Campaign, said: “The Food Standards Agency (FSA) say you cannot portray a product using words or images that misrepresent the food, so if you are using a scene of rolling countryside then that should imply those ingredients are from that scene.

“More importantly, Birds Eye also mis-use the word ‘traditional’. The use of ‘traditional’ is defined by the FSA as something made in its original form, so a roast chicken dinner implies small-scale production, but clearly this is made in a factory in southern Ireland and it isn’t even made by Birds Eye.”

Mr Ward, who invites the public to vote on misleading marketing on his website, honestlabelling.com, said Sainsbury’s should not have used the term British Classic on a dish containing Antipodean meat, even if it was in season. “I think it’s wrong,” he said. “Sainsbury’s have announced they are only using British and Irish beef so that’s a great step forward … so clearly they believe it matters.”

Sainsbury’s insisted its labelling was “clear and transparent”. A spokesman said: “In this case the ‘Great British Classics’ name and use of the Union Jack is to highlight the fact that both shepherd’s pie and Lancashire hotpot are both uniquely British dishes. The packaging on both clearly states the lamb is from New Zealand and it is important to remember we only use New Zealand lamb when lamb is out of season in the UK.”

Birds Eye said: “We are always clear about the source of our ingredients. If any of our products, including our ‘Traditional Beef/Chicken Dinner’, are produced in the UK but contain meat which is sourced from other countries, then we clearly state this on the pack.”

Marks & Spencer was unavailable for comment.