SFMTA – National Food Policy

Background

Scotland's butchers share the Scottish Government's vision for food that it should make the nation healthier, wealthier and smarter with production making communities stronger and consumption respecting the local and global environment.

Butchers have always been the purveyors of locally reared stock.  In maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with Scottish producers, they are the longest established and most loyal supporters of Scottish agriculture.  Their contribution to their local economy, using local infrastructure, supporting local tradesmen and employing local people cannot be measured but has to be very significant.  Despite the rise of supermarkets the butcher's shop maintains its place at the heart of retailing.  Craft skills and traditional values are continued as a basis for the unique selling point of Scotland 's craft butchers.

• A healthier Scotland will result from changing individual behaviour and attitudes about diet and food choices. from improving the nutritional quality, safety and freshness of food on offer in institutions and the catering sector. to supporting Scottish food manufacturers and retailers to take the initiative in driving forward consumer demand for more affordable, healthier food options. Communities across Scotland will enjoy better access to affordable, safe, healthy and fresh seasonal food.

Scotland's food and diet has a role to play in reducing obesity.  Just as farmers have produced leaner livestock for slaughter, butchers have reacted to customer demands for healthier eating by reducing fat on meat sold and creating leaner meat products.

Recently a survey of salt and fat levels in Scottish butchers beef sausages revealed that the bigger problem was not with fat in the product but with salt levels.  SFMTA are actively working with seasoning suppliers, the Food Standards Agency and Food Innovation at Abertay University to use this information to reformulate recipes, do sensory tests on eating quality, test the ability of small manufacturers to adhere to recipes and give nutritional information at point of sale even for loose meat products.  This collaboration is working towards producing a positive plan of action.

We agree that healthier food should be more accessible to all and it is our view that this is less of a location issue and more of an inequality issue.  It is our aim where meat product recipes are reformulated these should be for the mainstream product so that these are available and affordable in all our communities.  

The Scottish public sector's spend on food is around £85m per annum giving it a unique opportunity to influence what is served and how it is sourced.  Scotland 's butchers would welcome the opportunity to supply into the public sector and so support moves to allow public procurement to be addressed at local levels.  In this respect, SFMTA would welcome the opportunity to have dialogue with Health Scotland

• A safer and stronger Scotland will result from a thriving food industry where local communities will flourish and become better places to live through improved access to amenities and services.

Accessibility

Butchers businesses are usually placed in traditional shopping areas linking into public transport and removing the need for special car journeys to the edge of town.  Support for existing shopping areas should be a priority and parking charges would serve better only if they increased the availability of spaces for shoppers.  It is important that future planning policies deliver 'in town' development and support neighbourhood shops with good public transport access.

Much focus and financial support has been given to weekly or fortnightly Farmers Markets and on farm retailing. While this is to be applauded especially in linking the consumer to production it should not be forgotten that many of these farmers supply a niche market.  Whilst this is a lifestyle choice for some better off individuals, it can never be considered a viable alternative production method to put food on the table for the vast majority.

Craft butchers on the other hand trade 6 days per week, 52 weeks of the year and make a considerable contribution to local authority rates.

Butchers shops very often perform the role of the everyday Farmers Market, selling locally produced fruit, vegetables, cheese and eggs.  They are happy to promote and selling more affordable and healthier foods and are ideally placed to know where their food comes from.

Local Abattoirs

Butchers provide the core business for most of Scotland 's small abattoirs with many actually run by butchers for butchers e.g at Galashiels, St Andrews , Shotts, Wishaw and Dingwall.  In certain areas the ability of farmers and butchers to do business either direct or through a livestock mart is precluded by the absence of an abattoir to handle their product. There are particular problems in Dumfries and Galloway and on Orkney where such co-operation is stifled by the commercial interests of the meat wholesalers running these abattoirs.  In other areas, in particular Aberdeenshire, wholesalers appear to have friendly operating agreements with local farmers and butchers.

Smaller abattoirs operate on the islands of Tiree, Mull, Uist, Lewis and Shetland. The economic viability of all abattoirs is highly dependent on throughput and while there are clamours for more local abattoirs, especially from Skye, the continued operation of existing abattoirs should not be jeopardised by the provision of more using Government funding.   SFMTA members welcome the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation Grant Scheme and ask that existing abattoirs and red meat processors are given priority.

SFMTA welcomes the rationalisation of The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) which we believe has become overly bureaucratic in nature.  While it has an important role to perform in safeguarding food safety in abattoirs and cutting plants, the MHS's attentions should be risk based and proportionate and there is a need to clearly define criteria under which the MHS and Food businesses operate.  We would be happy to contribute to any debate that might lead to a more autonomous inspection body for Scotland.

• A smarter Scotland will result from a highly-skilled and innovative food industry with consumers that are better informed about where their food comes from, how it was grown and the wider health, environmental, social and economic benefits of the choices they make.

Craft Skills and Hygiene training

Maintaining a unique selling point through maturing one's own supplies and cutting it in optimum ways is extremely important to craft butchers.  Preservation of these skills through training, should be a priority.

On the job training should be available to those entering the meat industry, whether young or old.  Government funded training in Scotland is currently restricted to 16 to 19 year olds while in Northern Ireland this extends to 24 years of age and in England Train to Gain allows training for all.  Scottish Meat Training (SMT) is a well respected training provider delivering vocational qualifications in meat and poultry processing and food and drink throughout Scotland .  The restricted funding in Scotland has led SMT to (successfully) seek contracts in both Northern Ireland and England .  While this provides welcome income to ensure the future of this specialist training provider it is extremely disappointing that they have been forced to divert its expertise outside Scotland's boundaries.

While 80% of training funding in Scotland is directed to further education colleges, 80% of training actually takes place on the job.  This requires to be addressed and funds more fairly allocated.

The Scottish Government's reluctance to adopt the recommendations of the Leitch Review seriously disadvantage Scottish food businesses and suggests doubt over its commitment to the training and development of the workforce.

“The Review sets out a compelling vision for the UK.  It shows that the UK must urgently raise achievements at all levels of skills and recommends that it commit to becoming a world leader in skills by 2020, benchmarked against the upper quartile of the OECD.  This means doubling attainment at most levels of skill.  Responsibility for achieving ambitions must be shared between Government, employers and individuals.”

While SFMTA supports the implementation of the Scottish Sector Skills Strategy as drawn up by Improve and a National Skills Academy for food and drink in Scotland we are also aware that they and organisations such as Scotland\\\'s Food and Drink will all soak up considerable budget.  We fear that we may reach a situation where there are databases and virtual centres of excellence and information but with no funding left for action at the grassroots.

We read comments referring to 1 in 5 working in Food and Drink industry and biggest exporter yet we feel that there is a lack of commitment to support delivery of Food and Drink Manufacturing SVQs to those over the age of 19.  With signs of migrant workers starting to return to their own countries it is even more important that the indigenous population is adequately trained.

From all agencies there is agreed recognition that there are skills gaps that need addressed yet, despite all the funding piled in at the top, there are few signs of anything being done to alter this need.  Not everyone is capable of going to college and it should be acknowledged that there is a place for vocational qualifications.  Copying the English system of reimbursing employers for hours spent working on qualifications would greatly increase the uptake of vocational qualifications.

Careers events such as Make it in Scotland and in schools events such as the Schools Challenge and Determined to Succeed should be supported.  The Scottish Food and Drink Industry needs to raise its profile and improve its perception in the market place for entrants.

Education of the Scottish population in hygiene practices and cooking techniques should be part of the school curriculum. Scottish butchers have been disappointed with customers' poor awareness of where their food comes from and how they should perform even the most basic cooking.  The reduced delivery of home economics at school has been the primary reason for this ignorance.

The ability to cook using fresh ingredients should be encouraged and the reliance on processed foods should be actively discouraged.  Basic understanding of food hygiene is equally important and should underlie good practice in Scotland 's food industry.

• A wealthier and fairer Scotland will result from the sustainable economic growth of the food industry through greater co-operation and collaboration from primary production to final market, ensuring the long-term viability of primary producers, and increasing export markets for Scottish produce.

Sustainability

Farm Assurance and traceability in the Scottish livestock sector is well established and has become a hallmark of the Scottish Industry.  As a consequence consumers can shop in confidence of knowing the origin of what they eat.  Quality Assurance schemes guarantee the product from farm to fork, bolstering the primary producers' product.

Scottish farm welfare is of the highest standards.  The situation where produce is brought in from countries where welfare is of a lower standard and subsequently lower production costs should be avoided.

EU Agricultural Policy and rising cereal prices have combined to diminish the interest of Scottish farmers to produce beef from the suckler herd.  SFMTA would welcome any moves that reverse this trend.

While the world wide markets provide sufficient food this may not continue to be the case.  It has to be concerning that large areas of good agricultural land continues to be used for new housing and commercial development. Planners in Scotland should be more focussed in ensuring brownfield sites are fully considered before good agricultural land is used.  A reversal of this situation would not be easily achieved.

There are 750 butchers shops in Scotland , all employing local people, supporting local businesses supplying goods and services, and local producers.  They are central to the vibrancy of the shopping environment, complementing other shops and businesses.  As such they make significant impact to local economies both in urban and rural Scotland .  The dominance of supermarkets threatens the independent retail sector and support for small, and often rural, local businesses would extend choice and compliment objectives for a wealthier and fairer Scotland.

Business entrepreneurialism should be fostered in Scotland and barriers to business such as punitive employment law should be resisted.  Only by doing this will innovators, thinkers and collaborators be encouraged to develop and produce in Scotland.

• A greener Scotland will result from reducing the environmental impact of food and drink production, processing, manufacturing and consumption by encouraging responsible behaviour throughout the supply chain through reduced emissions, unnecessary use of raw materials, waste, packaging, energy and water use.

Greener Scotland

SFMTA would support any further steps that reduce food miles in the supply chain and would consider any initiatives that result in more recyclable product and packaging.  We would be happy to work with the Scottish Government in this regard.  Scotland's Craft butchers consider that they provide the opportunity and access for customers to reduce travelling to purchase.  

Country of Origin Labelling

For all sorts of reasons it makes sense for Scottish consumers to consume Scottish produce.  This extends to consumers in the public sector and in tourism.  To allow this to happen it is firstly imperative that Scottish produce can be identified and traced through to consumption.

The intermingling of product in supermarkets and economy with the truth in foodservice makes it difficult for consumers to know whether or not they are actually sourcing Scottish produce.  The quality of the Scotch Beef brand with its inherent assurance is undermined by the more dominant use of saltires and the description Scottish.

SFMTA believes that as much information as possible should be offered to customers.  Craft butchers will be able to tell their customers where their meat has come from, who has cut it up, who has made meat products, what has gone into those meat products and just what to expect from their sales in terms of quality and longevity of the product.

SFMTA believes that the mandatory labelling of beef with the requirement to have every voluntary claim verified by an external certification body, is contrary to consumers' interests and effectively prevents accurate information, such as farm names and beef breed to be passed on.  Cattle come with passports that provide detailed records of movements yet the information on the passport cannot be given to the consumer.  This deems the whole expensive and painstaking process irrelevant.  SFMTA calls for the EU Beef Labelling Act to be removed so that accurate descriptions can be applied.  These descriptions could easily be checked by Trading Standards Officers.

It is imperative that Scottish produce is identifiable.  All food products wherever they reach the final consumer should be marketed with country of origin labelling.  To achieve this wholesalers and primary producers are required to play their part in making sure this information reaches the food business operator supplying the final consumer.

Where country of origin labelling would be misleading greater information should be given. For example Scottish Bacon made from English Pork, Scottish Marmalade made from Spanish oranges, Scottish Macaroon bars made with Jamaican coconut.

Greater encouragement should be given to the hospitality sector to use Scottish produce. When visitors are fed a traditional Scottish breakfast it should be just that.  Eggs, sausages, bacon, mushrooms and black pudding should be produced in Scotland with stipulation made where certain products may not be from Scotland e.g Tomato or Baked Beans.

SFMTA is open to collaborative ways of working on such food issues whether it is with Visit Scotland, British Innkeepers Association or hospitality groups.  Indeed we would be keen to further exploit opportunities for food tourism.  This does not stop at merely tasting the product.  We have hosted incoming tours for butchers around the best Scottish shops and plants and there is potential for more of these and for butchers shops to be included in farm / 'foodie' tours.  We would be happy to discuss how craft based food industry could interact with tourists.

Delivery

SFMTA will welcome the publication of the Scottish Government's Food Policy and looks forward to participating in the added value that we all hope it brings.  Whatever policy the Scottish Government eventually agrees to it is important that it actually delivers against the objectives and the healthy and Scottish options should be the default.