Just Ask and buy British, says CLA at Royal Show

British food and food service opportunities will be the focus of talks held at the Royal Show in Warwickshire this year.

Chaired by CLA Vice-President Harry Cotterell, the food conference at Stoneleigh Park, on Friday 4 July from 10.30am-12.30pm, will discuss what the resurgent interest in British food really holds by way of opportunity for British farmers.

The CLA Vice-President said: "We are running an ongoing campaign called 'Just Ask' which aims to encourage people to ask where the food on their plate comes from.

"Our objective is simple: to raise the public's and the food chain operator's awareness as to the origin of food.

"The CLA 'Just Ask' campaign also aims to increase public understanding as to the quality of local food so that the consumer can make an informed choice as well as helping the public reconnect with food and farming."

A recent survey by the CLA into public and private sector food procurement policies reveals two-thirds of organisations aim to buy British or local produce. Results showed 60 percent of private and public sector bodies would think about changing their food-buying practices to include more local food products. Yet only two percent of food procured by the public sector is produced locally.

Mr Cotterell said: "We believe consumers benefit both in terms of the environment as well as in the quality of the product if it is sourced locally. This message is beginning to be grasped by those in the public and private sectors but with there being only two percent of public sector procurement, there is a long way to go.

"It is essential that the public's increasing desire to buy local is embraced by our public and private bodies."

The CLA's food procurement survey asked 100 public and private sector bodies about their policies on purchasing food for their employees as well as the public.

The results also showed that:

• A major barrier still remains cost and value for money,

• More than 80 percent of dairy products purchased are British,

• Nearly 50 percent of food origins are communicated on packs or labels,

• Ten percent, however, do not communicate the origin at all, and

• Communicating food origins can be impractical.