Meat Labelling Terms Explained
With so many different logos and marks to look out for when it comes to assuring the quality of meat, do you know what to look for and what’s important to you? We’ve defined a few of the main ones (and the ones that are important to us!).
The Red Tractor: Found on Chicken, Pork, Lamb and Beef as well as other foods. It indicates that the product can be traced back to farms produced under Assured Food Standards (AFS). AFS guarantees that products featuring the Union Jack attached to the Red Tractor logo have been born, raised, slaughtered, grown, prepared and packaged entirely within the UK and in accordance with their strict standards.
The Quality Standard Mark Scheme: This provides one of the highest independently inspected quality assurances for beef and lamb. Guaranteeing standards of food safety, animal welfare, care for the environment and enhanced eating quality.
Outdoor Reared: This is a mark to look for particularly when buying pork. It refers to pigs that are bred outdoors and then remain outdoors for around half their life.
Organic: Requires that animals are raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviours (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones.
Free-range: Refers to when livestock lives in natural conditions with freedom of movement.
