CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 30TH JULY 2021

Covid 19 update.

A decision is due to be made next week on whether the major remaining restrictions will be lifted from 9 August.
There are “strong grounds for hope” that Scotland will be able to remove most of its remaining Covid rules next month, the first minister has said.

Nicola Sturgeon said the country was in a much better place now than it was earlier this month, when it had the highest virus rate in Europe.

Ms Sturgeon is due to decide next week whether to remove all of the major level zero rules from 9 August.

She told a government briefing that she was optimistic this would happen.

But she stressed that a “sensible degree of continued caution” would be needed to ensure the progress that has been made in recent weeks is not reversed.

Critical staff in Scotland who can apply to be exempt from self-isolation update.
The Scottish Government have advised us today that exemptions are not likely to be granted with respect to individual retail outlets. Neither supermarkets (as in individual stores) nor other retail outlets are likely to qualify
They have indicated the exemption scheme is there to be utilised for Critical National Infrastructure and the likes of retail distribution hubs, and wholesalers have taken advantage of the exemption where they have proved that self-isolation is having an impact on ability to operate and supply chains.
They have provided some exemptions including to our members on those who provide produce into the public sector, care homes, schools etc but again that has been for the food processing/cutting side rather than direct to consumer retail outlets.

The exception to this may be where a retail store or smaller independent direct to consumer retailer may be the only location providing food in a remote or very rural location.
It appears that there was initial confusion between different Government departments over this, as we were informed last week that “it appears that our members could apply”.
We had a meeting with Food Standards Scotland this morning who stated that they feel that where our members business is in a rural location then they should apply for exemption status.
If a business wishes to apply for exemption, they should email the address below providing the information requested:
Email: [email protected]

British Pie Awards – 2021

British Pie Awards
Click here for UK map of award winning pies
A celebration of the craft and skill of the British Piemaker. The pies must be commercially available at the time of the Awards. There are 23 classes including Hot & Cold, Sweet and Savoury Pies. A pie is a filling totally encased in pastry and baked”.
British Pie Awards 2021 – Entries Now Open
Judging on 15th September
To Enter Your Pies Click Here
ENTRIES CLOSE 1ST SEPTEMBER 2021

Butchers Survey, help us to improve our service to you!

win 1 year's annual membership to Scottish Craft Butchers.

Scottish Craft Butchers are supporting this survey, carried out by National Craft Butchers. (terms and conditions apply)

It will provide us with valuable information to allow us to develop the service we provide to our members.

We would encourage you to complete the survey, not all questions are relevant to Scotland but please answer as many as you can using the link below.

(Closing date is 6th August 2021)

Complete the survey here:-
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HHJBPSZ

Butchers based in Scotland who complete the survey, will be entered into a prize draw to win 1 year's annual membership to Scottish Craft Butchers. (Main branch only, additional branches of the business will be invoiced as normal)

Supplying raw meat as pet food

In response to queries on our WhatsApp chat group we have the following information regarding the above. Members should read through the information below carefully to decide whether they wish to supply raw meat as pet food.
Members can access information on the feed hygiene and feed safety legislative requirements that apply to production of pet food from the FSS website at; Animal feed regulations | Food Standards Scotland | Food Standards Scotland
Members will need to register as a feed business with FSS and will require to be approved with Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) as the feed contains animal by products (ABPs) and comply with the relevant Animal By Products Regulations. Scottish Government Animal Health and Welfare and APHA lead on ABPs and publish guidance on these legislative requirements for ABPs at; Guidance for the animal by-product industry – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Before you start manufacturing any pet food please contact your local trading standards service for advice as feed businesses, including all pet food manufacturers, must not operate without being registered or approved (as appropriate) with their local authority (usually the trading standards service).
Additionally, legislation requires the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), as the competent authority, to approve manufacturing plants where pet food uses or incorporates products of animal origin – for example, eggs, meat, milk, butter, honey. This includes premises manufacturing pet food in domestic houses, even if using products of animal origin deemed fit for human consumption.
The pet food must be labelled with mandatory labelling requirements, which are sometimes referred to as a 'statutory statement'.

New Scottish Craft Butchers Ties

We have the new Scottish Craft Butchers ties available in navy blue and maroon.
The ties are available to order from [email protected]
The price is £6.50 each plus VAT.

Update to e-mail contact details

As we have now completed the process of changing the name of the organisation to “Scottish Craft Butchers” we have also taken to opportunity to change our e-mail addresses to reflect this.
Please note the new e-mail contact details for Gordon and Bruce below.
Our mobile numbers remain the same.

Gordon King: [email protected] 07917524313
Bruce McCall: [email protected] 07834490922

The Scottish Craft Butchers office in Perth is now closed following government guidelines.
We will be available to our members to answer any queries via email or by mobile phone and will be available out of office hours for any members wanting to contact us.