Waitrose has rebranded its lamb ready meals after coming under fire from both customers and the farming sector for using misleading labels.
Farmers voiced their anger last year after it was discovered that the supermarket’s lamb ready meals which are branded ‘Waitrose British’ are in fact made with lamb from New Zealand.
On Monday, the retailer announced all the “British” lamb meals will be rebranded as “Classic”. But shoppers still shared their anger on social media over the issue.
Dairy farmer Robert Martin said in a Tweet: “@waitrose why are you using New Zealand lamb in your British lamb dishes? Shame on you for not supporting British suppliers.”
Dairy farmer Miranda Bowen said: “@waitrose British menu? Made with New Zealand lamb. This is very misleading! Why not use #Britishlamb? #Supportlocal”
A spokesperson for Waitrose on Monday said the new packaging is being “printed as we speak”.
Waitrose said: “To ensure the provenance of the lamb in the meals is clearer (it has always been on back of pack) we have stickered all packs on the front. We are about to re-launch the range with the branding ‘Classic’, removing the large ‘British’ reference from the front of pack.
“This was only ever supposed to denote the origin of the recipe but we understand why confusion has arisen.”
In a statement, National Farmers' Union President Meurig Raymond said the farming sector welcomes the changes.
“We made our concerns very clear to Waitrose right from the beginning on this product. The inclusion of the word ‘British’ in the brand name despite the meat being sourced from New Zealand is misleading for shoppers - and it’s frustrating for British farmers, especially those who produce lamb Waitrose could have sourced,” he said.
It is not the first time that Waitrose has been criticised over the use of its New Zealand lamb.
In April last year, sheep farmers voiced their anger after the retailer marketed New Zealand lamb under its Duchy brand – licensed for sole use by Waitrose and set up by Prince Charles to promote the best of British produce.
The retailer on Monday said it had challenged suppliers to explore the practicalities of using more British lamb in ready meals available at their stores.
“At the moment, because of our policy of only buying from our dedicated supply chain and using the whole carcass, we do not have sufficient raw material available to make this change but, nevertheless, we are exploring this option,” a spokesperson for Waitrose said.
