More retailers are correctly labelling meat from Scots farms as Scottish, according to NFU Scotland.
The union’s ScotchWatch initiative, which tracks retailer commitment to making sure that all beef, lamb, pork and chicken from Scottish farms is labelled as Scottish, has found positive developments by two major retailers.
The campaign was launched in January to try and persuade retailers to label meat from Scottish farms as Scottish, rather than British.
At the time of the launch, Tesco scored the worst in the union’s survey with only 28% of its shelf facing dedicated to Scotch-labelled beef, with the rest a mix of British and Irish.
The Co-op scored top of the list, with 93% of its shelf facing dedicated to Scotch labelled beef products, followed by Lidl, Morrison’s and Aldi.
New analysis by NFU Scotland has found improvements in Tesco stores, and the retail giant has since been praised for increasing the amount of Scottish beef on its shelves to almost 90%.
Lidl has also come up top in the latest study for changing its labelling of chicken as British to Scottish.
The discount retailer has confirmed its all-year round listed poultry lines, with the exception of free range chicken, are now labelled as Scottish.
NFU Scotland said this would be a welcome boost for Scots poultry farmers, given the recent turmoil following restructuring within the industry.
The union said it has been in touch with both retailers to congratulate them on their efforts to highlight Scottish produce.
Food chains relationship manager Kylie Barclay said: “While retailers have a strong commitment to Scottish produce, we discovered food from Scottish farms appearing in Scottish stores under British or own brand labels.
“We have a great story to tell and started ScotchWatch with the intention of making the Scottish label the preferred option – building Scotland’s reputation as a land of food and drink both at home and in other parts of the UK as well.”
She said NFU Scotland would continue to work with all retailers to encourage them to make good use of Scottish labelling.