Red Tractor Labelling Audit

How the Red Tractor logo is currently used on-pack

Published by Assured Food Standards

MAY 2012 UPDATE

1

Foreword 3

Introduction 4

Scope and Methodology of Labelling Audit 8

Retail Sales Value of Core Audited Categories 9

Summary and Results of the Audit 10

Overall Summaries by Retailer 11

Fresh and Frozen Produce 12

Fresh and Processed Dairy; Milk/Cream, Yogurt, Butter and Cheese 14

Fresh Meat and Poutry 16

Sliced Cooked Meats, Bacon/Gammon and Sausage 18

Added Value Meat, Frozen Meat, Bread/Flour 20

CONTENTS

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3

When we published last year’s Audit I expressed the hope that it would stimulate debate, thought and action; and that it would help food retailers, processors and packers consider how the use of the Red Tractor logo on packaging could be improved.

I am delighted to report progress over the last twelve months. Not only has the wholesale value of food packs carrying the Red Tractor logo increased to around £12 billion, but more use has been made of the logo on the front of food packaging as opposed to the rear of packs. In addition we are aware of a number of re-labelling exercises on specific categories in certain retailers’ own-label ranges which are in process at the time of writing. These will further increase the total market value of packs carrying the logo.

Thus, use of the Red Tractor logo is maintaining its positive momentum. It is being used on more qualifying products, and in a way which enables shoppers to see it more easily at point of purchase.

In our annual research tracking of shoppers’ awareness of, and attitudes towards, the Red Tractor logo (conducted by YouGov in March 2012) we have seen awareness amongst primary shoppers grow from 55% to 60%; and the proportion of shoppers who claim to look for it on at least some of their food purchases has grown from 19% to 25%. A further 39% support the principle of a cross-sector logo that indicates which foods are assured and British, meaning that altogether 64% of shoppers are supportive of the Red Tractor. Further details of this research are featured in the following pages.

This year’s Audit Report highlights further opportunities to feature the Red Tractor logo on qualifying packs, and we look forward to working with retailers and packers to exploit these opportunities. The virtuous circle of more widespread use of the logo, leading to even higher levels of familiarity and understanding on the part of shoppers, has a compelling logic.

Our assurance schemes are not just about the 78,000 or so farms which are inspected independently, but they include audits of livestock hauliers, livestock markets, processors and packers. We provide the essential due diligence infrastructure which underpins claims of production standards and origin information throughout the whole food production chain, and on which the food industry relies for integrity of supply chain information and traceability. The result is good quality food that is affordable to the vast majority of shoppers and consumers.

We are confident that we make a difference and we are proud of what we do. Independent research commissioned by Defra shows that compliance with UK legislation is significantly higher on certified farms. Our schemes include some standards that are higher than UK legislation, which itself is higher in some respects than EU legislation.

Our Audit Report this year is presented with results in a category-by-category format, to enable more focused consideration of the role that the Red Tractor logo can play in signposting assured standards and provenance. We look forward to discussing further opportunities with key companies and, as ever, I would welcome your personal feedback, via chairman@assuredfoodstandards.com

This is the second Red Tractor Labelling Audit and builds on the very successful launch of our first report published in May 2011. We’ve had some really positive feedback from across the food industry on the content covered and this year’s edition is intended to build on that success.

FOREWORD By David Gregory

David Gregory, Chairman, Assured Food Standards (Red Tractor Assurance)

Red Tractor now appears on approximately £12 billion worth of food

The number of packers licensed to use the Red Tractor logo continues to grow, with around 600 plants licensed at the start of 2012. Similarly the retail sales value of food products carrying the Red Tractor logo also continues to increase and it is estimated now to be approaching £12 billion per annum. The Red Tractor logo is therefore by far the most widely used assurance mark in the UK market and it is used extensively on qualifying products in all the major UK supermarket chains.

In parallel to the increased use of the Red Tractor logo on food products, independent surveys show that shopper awareness of the logo is also increasing. A YouGov survey conducted in March 2012 revealed that 60% of primary shoppers now recognise the logo, compared to 55% in March 2011 (Chart 1).

The same research shows a significant shift in terms of the importance given to assurance marks on packaging, when compared to identical research conducted a year earlier. A sample of 1,558 primary shoppers in Britain was asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how important they felt assurance marks on food packaging were (where 1 is “Very Important” and 5 is “Not at all Important”). This year 34% of primary shoppers rated them Very or Quite Important compared to 28% twelve months ago (Chart 2).

How does a food product qualify to carry the Red Tractor logo?

To qualify to carry the Red Tractor logo, the packer of the food product must be licensed by Red Tractor Assurance. Licences are renewed annually. The packer must pack food products which have been farmed or grown in compliance with one of six sector Red Tractor assurance schemes and, in the case of processed products, that such foods have been processed in accordance with Red Tractor standards in each sector. The six sector schemes cover beef/lamb, pig meat, horticulture, dairy, cereals and poultry.

In total nearly 80,000 farms are independently audited by accredited certification bodies to check compliance with each sector scheme’s standards, supported by audits of processors and packers. These latter audits check traceability control procedures as well as compliance with processing standards.

The Union Flag contained within the logo indicates that the product has been farmed, packed and processed in the UK.

INTRODUCTION Red Tractor Continues to Grow

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The Red Tractor logo first appeared on food packaging in 2000. In May 2011 Red Tractor Assurance (which is owned by Assured Food Standards and which operates the Red Tractor Assurance schemes across all primary food production sectors), published its first major Labelling Audit review of the use of the Red Tractor logo on supermarket food products. This second Labelling Audit updates the exercise undertaken last year to provide the most accurate assessment of how the Red Tractor logo is currently being used (as at February 2012 when the products were purchased for the audit) to provide consumer confidence.

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CHART 2 Importance of marks on packHow important to you when selecting food items are assurance marks/logos on pack?

CHART 1 Awareness of food assurance logosWhich if any of the following logos are you aware of/have you seen before?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

50

2011 2012

10%13%

%

18%21%

33%38%

21%

17%19%

13%

Very Important Quite Important Neither Rather Unimportant Not at all Important

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

34% of shoppers consider assurance

marks important(up from 28% in 2011)

The number of shoppers who do not consider

assurance marks to be important has decreased

55%

+5%

+1%

+4%+2% -1%

+1% -2% -1% 0%

60%

35% 37%

4% 4%

39%43%

34% 33%

11% 12%

5% 4%

%

NONE OF THESE

0

20

40

60

80

100

2011 2012

6% 4%

2011 2012

90% 91%

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 20122011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

Source; YouGov, 1,558 primary shoppers March 2012, 1,461 primary shoppers March 2011

Source; YouGov, 1,558 primary shoppers March 2012, 1,461 primary shoppers March 2011

“Growth in awareness of Red Tractor logo”

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Previous qualitative research has shown that there are a number of key attributes of the Red Tractor assurance scheme which are motivating to shoppers. Not only does the scheme have appeal for its broad-based coverage of animal welfare and environmental protection standards, but it also appeals because it facilitates food chain traceability and is operated by an independent assurance body. Additionally it holds appeal due to its unequivocal rules regarding origin of farming and processing, as indicated by the flag appended to

the logo.

CHART 3 Importance of Red Tractor attributesRate each of the following attributes on a 5 point scale.

(Number rating each attribute as “Very”/”Quite” Important)

%

Ability to trace back to farm of origin

Reassurance that the food has been

farmed and packed in the UK (i.e. when

the Union Flag is used in the logo)

Having an independent body which audits the food chain and

ensures production standards are

being met

Reassurance about the food production process all the way from farms to pack

Having high standards in each

part of the food production process

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

69% 68% 67% 70% 71%

Source: YouGov, 1558 primary shoppers March 2012

“Red Tractor logo appeals to shoppers across a number

of key attributes”

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With awareness of the logo apparent amongst the majority of primary supermarket shoppers in the UK it is clear that optimal impact for the Red Tractor logo is achieved by using it on the front or top of food packaging. Two-thirds of the shopper population now support the principle of having a single cross-sector assurance mark, and a quarter say that they look for it on at least some food categories when shopping. Both ratios have increased since last year.

CHART 4 Attitude to Red Tractor when shoppingWhich of these statements best describes your attitude towards the Red Tractor logo?

2011

2012

2011

2012

2011

2012

2011

2012

2011

2012

2%

4%

17%

21%

35%

39%

28%

23%

17%

13% %%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 4030 25 20 15 10 5 0

“I actively look for it on food packs when shopping”

“The RT logo positively

influences my purchasing

of some foods”

“I support the principle of a logo like the RT to

identify which foods are assured and British but

don’t really look for it when shopping”

“I have no interest in it at all”

“None of these”

25% are Proactive

Red TractorShoppers

39% are Red Tractor

Supporters

“25% are proactive Red Tractor shoppers”

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It should be noted that Red Tractor Assurance operates a ‘main ingredient’ policy which allows the Red Tractor logo to be used in cases where the main ingredient of a processed food product is Red Tractor-assured and comprises at least 65% of the final product by weight/volume. In such cases the Red Tractor logo should specify underneath the main ingredient which is assured.

This means that a fruit yogurt product where more than 65% of the ingredients are comprised of British milk can carry the Red Tractor logo with the word “Milk” underneath (thus clearly denoting that there is no assurance claim being made for the fruit ingredient). On the other hand a steak pie where less than 65% of the product’s volume is accounted for by assured beef cannot be licensed to carry the logo.

It was apparent from this year’s audit that there were some lower value sausage ranges which contained British pork (and carried this information on pack), yet were unable to use the Red Tractor logo because the pork comprised less than 65% of the volume of the total ingredients.

During February 2012 a pre-determined list of food products was purchased from each of the top eight supermarket retailers who feature the Red Tractor on qualifying own-label food products.

The purpose of the survey was not to review sourcing policies, but purely to monitor the way in which the Red Tractor logo is currently being used on packaging in each retailer. The timing of the shopping audit dictated that British-sourced products in some category ranges were absent due to seasonality, but in total 348 products were purchased and analysed.

Qualifying products for the shopping audit were deemed to be those that already carried the Red Tractor on pack, or those that appeared to qualify to carry the Red Tractor logo based on other on-pack information.

Each product was analysed in terms of exactly where the Red Tractor logo was featured on pack, its size and its relationship with other provenance messages or assurance marks/logos. Photographic records were made of the front and/or back of each pack.

SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF LABELLING AUDIT

TABLE 1 Own-label products purchased where available in each retailer

Pre-packedpotatoes

(standard +p

carrots,remium),

onions,leeks,

mushrooms,c

greens,auliflower,

apples

Produce

Fresh Frozen

Chips,vegetables

Milk, cream

Dairy

Fresh Processed

Meat

Fresh

Bakery

Frozen Processed

*Maximum number of products bought from

* 99 33 22 99 1919 2244 1199

Own-labelyogurt,butter,

cheddar(value +

standard +premium),

gratedcheese,sliced

cheese,regionalcheese

(all standard)

Beef mince,beef sirloin, lamb chops/

steaks, pork loin chops/steaks (all

standard + premium),

roasting joints (allspecies), wholechicken (value +

standard +premium),

chicken cuts(standard +

value), turkeyfillets

Beef mince,chicken(fillets/diced),

burgers

Ham (value+ standard +premium),

other cookedmeats,

bacon (value+ standard +premium),sausage(value +

standard +premium), gammon,

added value products (e.g.

marinated meat, meat

in sauce)

any one retailer in each category (total 67)

Slicedbread, flour

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RETAIL SALES VALUE OF CORE AUDITED CATEGORIES

The core food categories on which the Red Tractor has traditionally been used are together worth over £29 billion per annum in terms of retail sales value. Additionally the Red Tractor has more recently been licensed to packers of manufactured products such as breakfast cereals, beers and lagers.

TABLE 2 Retail value by category

CATEGORY RETAIL SALES VALUE £Million per annum

Total Fruit 4,294

Total Vegtables 4,866(Of Which Total Frozen Veg) (1,043)

Fresh Milk & Cream 3,234

Yogurt Incl Drinking Yogurt 1,601

Butter 625

Cheese 2,600(Of Which Own/Private Label) (1,407)

Fresh & Frozen Beef 1,954

Fresh & Frozen Lamb 588

Fresh & Frozen Pork 924

Fresh & Frozen Poultry 2,328

Bacon & Gammon 1,348

Sausage 706

Sliced Cooked Meats 2,088

Bread 1,916(Of Which Own/Private Label Packed Bread) (461)

Flour 97

TOTAL CORE CATEGORIES £29,169Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 18 March 2012

“Core food categories on which the Red

Tractor is traditionally used are together

worth over £29 billion”

SUMMARY AND RESULTS OF THE AUDIT

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Of the total of 348 qualifying products purchased in our shopping audit during February 2012, 242 (70%) featured

the Red Tractor logo.

This represents a welcome upwards improvement from the figure of 66% in the corresponding audit conducted in January/February 2011.

Of the 242 packs which carried the Red Tractor logo, 166 (69%) featured it on the front/top of pack, compared to 71% in last year’s audit. Best front-of-pack use continues to be on products in the fresh meat and poultry category.

There remain some significant opportunities for own-label packers to become licensed to use the Red Tractor logo and to incorporate it onto their packaging, particularly in the frozen produce, processed dairy, sliced cooked meats and bread categories.

TABLE 3 Results by category

RT ON RT ON NO RT TOTAL CATEGORY FRONT REAR/SIDE LOGO QUALIFYING OF PACK OF PACK USED PACKSFresh Produce 24 15 25 64

Frozen Produce 2 n/a 9 11

Dairy, inc. processed dairy 26 26 19 71

Sliced Cooked Meats 6 3 17 26

Bacon & Sausage 23 7 9 39

Fresh meat 76 18 14 108 (beef, lamb, pork, poultry)

Added value & frozen meat 6 7 7 20

Bread/flour 3 n/a 6 9

TOTAL 166 76 106 348

“70% of qualifying products featured the Red Tractor logo”

“Significant opportunities in fresh produce,

dairy, sliced cooked meats

and bread”

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OVERALL SUMMARIES BY RETAILER

Three retailers only ever use the Red Tractor on the front of packs across all categories, i.e. they never use it on the side/rear of packs.

Two retailers adopt an approach whereby the Red Tractor logo is predominantly used on the side/rear of packaging. Coincidentally these are the two retailers with the highest number of qualifying products purchased in the audit sample, which is indicative of their sourcing policies.

Of the 106 ‘missed opportunities’ to use the Red Tractor logo, we identified some qualifying packs which didn’t carry the logo in every retailer.

TABLE 4 Red Tractor usage by retailer

FRONT SIDE/REAR TOTAL QUALIFYING TOTAL OF OF N0. OF PACKS WITH QUALIFYING PACK PACK PACKS NO RED PACKS RETAILER USE USE WITH RT TRACTOR LOGO

Aldi 17 4 21 (64%) 12 33

Asda 25 3 28 (72%) 11 39

Co-operative 33 0 33 (72%) 13 46

J Sainsbury 8 32 40 (66%) 21 61

Lidl 23 0 23 (85%) 4 27

Morrisons 33 0 33 (72%) 13 46

Tesco 25 16 41 (89%) 5 46

Waitrose 2 21 23 (46%) 27 50

TOTAL 166 (48%) 76 (22%) 242 (70%) 106 (30%) 348

“Three retailers only ever use the

Red Tractor on front of pack across all

categories”

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Of the 75 total packs of fresh and frozen produce purchased in the audit sample, the Red Tractor logo was used on the front of pack of 26 of them (35%), on the rear of pack of 15 (20%) and not at all on 34 (45%). Fresh and frozen produce remains the category with the lowest use of the logo on qualifying products. This is a function of seasonality in produce supply, together with the fact that two retailers do not use the Red Tractor logo on produce categories.

Front of pack use

Four of the retailers surveyed - Asda, Co-op, Lidl, and Morrisons - use the Red Tractor on the front of their fresh produce packaging.

Rear of pack use

Two retailers, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, use the Red Tractor logo on the rear of their fresh produce packaging. In the case of Tesco, its proprietary “Nurture” logo appears on the front of packs of all produce.

Fresh and Frozen Produce “Lowest overall use of the Red Tractor logo”

13

Missed opportunities

Two retailers, Aldi and Waitrose, do not use the Red Tractor logo on produce. In the case of Waitrose the house policy is to feature the LEAF logo on the rear of pack.

Other examples of qualifying British produce not carrying the Red Tractor logo were evident in cases where the origin was indicated via overprinted information on packaging used for flexibly sourced produce (which is dependent upon seasonality).

Examples of Red Tractor use front of pack on frozen produce

Missed opportunities

Frozen Produce

Frozen produce generally does not carry the Red Tractor logo in most retailers, although two examples of the Red Tractor being featured on the front of packaging were noted in Co-op and Tesco.

“Opportunities in frozen produce”

14

In total out of 71 fresh dairy and processed dairy products, the logo was used front of pack on 26 products (37%), on the rear of pack on 26 products (37%) and not at all on 19 products (27%).

Front of pack use

Every retailer uses the Red Tractor logo on containers of fresh milk, usually in the same field of vision as the front of pack product description and most retailers use the logo similarly on fresh cream cartons. In addition some impactful examples were noted of the logo being used on the front of pack of cheese and butter.

Fresh and Processed Dairy; Milk/Cream, Yogurt, Butter and Cheese

“Some impactful examples of the logo being used front of pack”

15

Missed opportunities

A number of opportunities to include the logo on packaging were noted, where other provenance information is prominent but the Red Tractor logo is not used

Rear of pack use

The Red Tractor logo was noted on more butter and cheese products in this year’s audit than in 2011, but it remains house policy for some retailers to apply it on the side or rear of packs rather than the front.

“Relatively low front of pack use”

Fresh Meat and Poultry

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There is widespread use of the Red Tractor on fresh meat and poultry across all retailers, with the logo appearing on 87% of the 108 qualifying products purchased from the fresh beef, lamb, pork and poultry categories.

Front of pack use

In six of the eight retailers the Red Tractor logo is generally used front of pack on qualifying fresh meat.

“Widespread use of the Red Tractor logo on fresh meat and

poultry across all retailers”

17

Rear of pack use

In both Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, use of the Red Tractor on packs of fresh meat is generally on the rear or side of packaging.

Missed opportunities

A few examples of qualifying fresh meat products not carrying the Red Tractor were noted. In general these were packs where origin information was overprinted on the label, or where other meat assurance marks were used, although there were a very few examples where provenance information alone was used with no supporting assurance logo.

18

Processed meat products comprised around one-fifth of the shopping sample in this year’s audit, but application of the Red Tractor logo to qualifying products remains inconsistent between retailers. In some cases the Red Tractor logo is used in conjunction with the Freedom Foods logo and in others it is absent. Only one retailer (Tesco) exclusively used the Red Tractor logo on the front of all qualifying packs purchased in the audited sample of these categories.

Front of pack use

Good examples of use of the logo on the front of packaging were noted in the majority of retailers.

Rear of pack use

Rear of pack use was less common in this category. The logo was noted as being used on the rear of pack on some of the products purchased in three retailers.

Sliced Cooked Meats, Bacon/Gammon and Sausage

“Overall, application is inconsistent”

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Missed opportunities

The majority of packs of sliced cooked meats which qualified to feature the logo (17 out of 26) did not carry it. Red Tractor Assurance is aware that some re-labelling exercises are underway during the first half of this year and it is therefore expected that greater use of the logo will be evident on packs in this category during 2012. Also noted were some missed opportunities to use the logo on some bacon/gammon and sausage products.

NB. We noted that some standard and value tier pork sausage products did not contain enough qualifying pork by volume to pass the 65% main ingredient threshold (see explanation on Page 8) and these products were not recorded in the audit results.

“Majority of sliced cooked meats which qualified to feature the logo did not carry it”

Added Value and Frozen Meat

20

Included in the shopping audit were examples of added value meat products (marinated meat, meat in sauce, etc) where the main meat ingredient qualified for use of the Red Tractor and it accounted for more than 65% of the product by volume. Use of the Red Tractor on these products and on frozen meat products was variable, with some admirable front of pack use (6 of 20 products), some rear of pack use (7 of 20 products), and some missed opportunities (7 of 20 products).

Front of pack use

Rear of pack use

Missed opportunities

“Variable use of Red Tractor logo”

Bread/Flour

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Bread/Flour front of pack use

Bread/Flour missed opportunities

On own label flour and packed plant bread some front of pack use of the Red Tractor logo was noted, together with some examples of apparent missed opportunities where on-pack claims were made about the provenance of the wheat used.

“Inconsistent use of Red Tractor logo”

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www.redtractor.org.uk

Assured Food Standards (AFS)Europoint, 5-11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZTelephone: 020 7630 3320 Email: enquiries@redtractor.org.uk

© Assured Food Standards 2012

MAY 2012 UPDATE