Red Tractor First for Malvern
2010-06-15

As Red Tractor Week 14 – 21 June gets underway in celebration of a decade of British food and farming, the Malvern Showground in Worcestershire is planning a celebration of its own.

The Malvern Showground – home to the Three Counties Agricultural Society - has become the first Showground in the country to be awarded a coveted Red Tractor Licence, putting it ahead of the game in its field.

David Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, and Penny Beauchamp, Trade Marketing Manager of Assured Food Standards, will join farmer Andrew Blenkiron, for a presentation about Red Tractor on Friday 18 June at the Three Counties Show (18 – 20 June).

David, Penny and Andrew will be speaking in the event’s Rural Business Pavilion at 10.30 am.

The Society supports and promotes quality food and drink with taste, and has been stepping up its endeavours to source more local and regional suppliers using mainly British produce, for its catering at Shows and events.

Public interest in food provenance, animal health and welfare and the environmental impact of farming, is growing, so independent food assurance schemes have never been more important.

The Red Tractor scheme is an independently inspected, nationally agreed standard, which unifies assurance schemes in all the major sections of food production. It is the public face of food assurance and the driving force for encouraging every link in the British food chain to provide customers with a trusted single kitemark.

Shoppers can be confident that food bearing the Red Tractor symbol has been checked every step of the way from farm to pack.

The Showground’s Stockman’s Restaurant, which is used at the main shows and at other events, is now a Red Tractor-licensed establishment, and Severn Valley Catering’s Food For Thought Café uses Red Tractor milk, potatoes and onions when in season, and British meat. Severn Valley is also working towards making one of its mobile units a ‘Red Tractor’ unit, and the Society’s principal caterer, Relish, is examining its local sourcing and use of British produce.

The Society remains committed to promoting local producers, subsidizing trade stand space for exhibitors, using local firms to supply its catering contractors and providing a platform for highlighting local and British ingredients at its main shows. The long term aim is that visitors and exhibitors eating at the Showground will know that wherever possible, produce is sourced from the UK first.

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