Co-operative Food has pledged to increase its sourcing of British food as part of a three-year programme it claimed was worth £1.5billion to UK agriculture.
The retailer, which has 2,800 stores across the UK, said backing British farmers was about more than “just rolling out the bunting”.
It said it would source British produce for its own brand meat, poultry, produce, eggs and dairy products, as well as the produce used in its chilled ready meals, pies and sandwiches.
Its British pledge would cover all own brand meat with the exception of New Zealand lamb and Danish bacon – the retailer said it was not possible to stock British bacon and lamb all year round.
“Trust in retailers has been dented in recent years and we hope our openness about where we source our meat, poultry and produce will encourage more retailers to follow suit,” said the supermarket’s retail chief executive Steve Murrells.
“Shoppers want to know about the origin of their products and if supermarkets import meat for use in products it is important that, as well as being identified on product labelling, in-store marketing should not seek to unwittingly mislead. Backing British must mean more than just rolling out the bunting.”
The retailer also pledged to be open and transparent about its sourcing, publishing details of this in its annual sustainability report.
In addition its farming groups will be extended and it said it hoped to develop relationships with its produce grower base to provide greater availability of seasonal produce.
Its first sourcing report, published yesterday and entitled Born and Bred, revealed findings from research into consumer attitudes to food.
According to the research, 90% of shoppers wanted supermarkets to sell more food from British farms, and 86% felt food was more traceable when produced on British farms.