Transparancy the key as food producers do their 'level best' for consumers

The South Somerset Food Festival on 29th September part of British Food Fortnight - sees the launch of a brand which will raise the quality-bar for all locally produced food and drink. Not only does "Levels' Best" promise to bring together the finest producers within the 260 square miles of the Levels; it commits them to the most exacting green standards.

"Levels' Best" is endorsed by the award-winning local food campaigner Henrietta Green whose website, foodloversbritain.com, has made her a household word and who will launch the brand at the Festival.

"The Somerset Levels and Moors have long been a favourite area in Britain, with their seemingly undisturbed and timeless beauty," she said. "For years now, I have also enjoyed their wealth of produce and that is why I welcome the Levels' Best initiative. It will offer the consumer assurance of provenance, traceability and tradition – and that has to be a good thing."

Project manager Elaine Spencer-White said there were currently 19 producers qualified to use the Levels' Best logo in 10 categories: lamb and saltmarsh lamb, beef, poultry and eggs, dairy, game and fish, fruit and nuts, vegetables and honey, drinks and processed foods.

Entry criteria are strict, she added. "Meat and poultry must be from native breeds farmed on the Levels, fish and game caught or shot there, and the rest harvested or produced from verifiable local sources – all with a minimum of food miles and to the highest standards set by external bodies like the Soil Association."

Sixteen attractions and accommodation providers have gained associate status by committing to stock and serve at least two Levels' Best products, and a further nine have applied for membership.

A new website, www.levelsbest.co.uk, is being built which, as well as listing members and describing the food and drink qualified to bear the Levels' Best logo, allows a detailed trace to be carried out. For instance, visitors will be able to determine the breed, feed and provenance of beef cattle and see where their meat is being served.

Ms Spencer-White described Levels' Best as being "less of a brand than a lifestyle philosophy".

She said: "It creates a virtuous circle linking the interests of producers, consumers - and consumers' children, many of who have no idea where their bread, jam or sausages come from.

"I expect it to become a source of education as well as a beacon of quality, and to offer a future for farms on the Levels' with valuable knock-on benefits for the tourist industry and employment."

Levels' Best has been developed with assistance from Natural England and funded by LEADER+.