Food

Meat is on the menu four times a week for over a third of Brits, a new survey has found. A study of 1,000 people saw 34% of Brits tucking into meat four times every week with a further fifth (20%) getting stuck in to up to six times per week. 7 per cent eat meat up to 10 times every week. 65% said that meat made up the main part of their regular diet.

The research, by independent convenience retailer Nisa, commissioned for National Butchers Week, also highlighted the people of Bristol as top of the meat eating foodchain, with 53% eating meat up to four times a week. Hot on their heels with forks at the ready is Edinburgh (52%), Belfast (50%), Dublin (43%) and Newcastle/Manchester (36%).

When it comes to knowing our meat, the majority of Brits are more interested in eating it than knowing where it is cut from with only half in the know when it comes to asking for different cuts of meat. 27% of Brits found themselves bottom of the class after admitting they don’t know where a rump steak comes from. 62% are in the dark as to where a ribeye steak is from, 54% are clueless when it comes to sirloin and 73% unaware of where brisket belongs.

Despite loving meat, two thirds (66%) reported that they don’t eat as much meat as they did five years ago with over a quarter (27%) scoffing more meat as part of their diet compared with five years ago.

The survey also found that chicken is top of the chops, getting the thumbs up as the favourite type of meat from 40% followed by beef (35%), pork (10%), turkey (4%) and duck (3%).

76% like to know where their meat comes from as it goes into their shopping bag with a further 47% refusing to eat it if they don’t know its origin. 72% of Brits said they completely trust their local high street butcher.

Almost three quarters (74%) think a meat based diet is healthy with almost two-thirds (62%) trying to go meat free at least once a week. 7 out of 10 meat lovers thinks quality meat is too expensive.

A quarter of Brits (27%) don’t eat meat as regularly since the horse meat scandal in 2013 although 40% eat more than their parents. 60% of parents said that their children eat the same or more meat than them every week.

And although 71% of meat eaters said they enjoy tucking into a vegetarian dish, over two thirds would find it hard to give up meat for a longer period.

Commenting on the research Kim Brown, head of fresh, frozen and DTS at Nisa Retail Limited, said: “Our research highlights that Brits love their meat but changes in diet, scares over quality and scandals in recent years have affected meat eating habits.

“Our research proves that provenance and trust is important when buying meat and this is something Nisa is very keen on – providing high quality, British sourced meat at affordable prices with everything from Heritage Gourmet Cumberland sausages and skinless chicken fillets to Wiltshire cure smoked bacon and whole fresh chickens.”

Waitrose dairy farmers have exceeded their own target for outdoor grazing, achieving an average of 167 days last season. As a result, Waitrose has increased the number of days it guarantees all its dairy cows spend outside, from 100 to 120 days.

As the first supermarket to make a guarantee of this kind, the pledge highlights Waitrose commitment to animal welfare and ensures a consistent approach for all of its dairy farmers. The realistic target factors in the occasionally challenging weather conditions across the UK, as cows don't like being outside in bad weather.

The milder temperatures this month will provide the perfect conditions for outdoor grazing to start on Waitrose farms.The grazing season lasts from early spring to the end of autumn, when the conditions are best and the pasture is at its most lush and nutritious.

During the winter, the cows live in well-ventilated barns with clean, dry and comfortable bedding and are fed on a forage-based diet of grass or maize silage.

To tie in with the start of the grazing season,  Waitrose will air its dairy advert on TV from this week. The advert was filmed on a dairy farm near Newbury that supplies milk to Waitrose and gives customers the opportunity to see the benefits of grazing and the environment  for themselves. The campaign is in response to the demand Waitrose is seeing for quality food and shoppers wanting to be reassured about its provenance.

Heather Jenkins, Waitrose Director of Agriculture and Meat, Fish and Dairy Buying said: “We're proud of our dairy farmers for exceeding the targets that we set out in our original grazing pledge and it's fantastic that we're now able to extend it to 120 days. Grazing ensures our dairy cows are producing great quality milk and contributes to our high animal welfare standards, which has always been fundamental to our business."

Brian Barnett, Chair of the Waitrose Dairy Farmers Group, added:  “Waitrose dairy farmers have always allowed our cows to graze outdoors but this is the first year that we've recorded the precise number of days that they spend outside - and it is fantastic that we averaged 167 days. We have worked closely with Waitrose for many years and this joint commitment to ensure the welfare of our animals is industry leading.”

Waitrose has an exclusive pool of 60 dairy farms across the UK in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon. Milk is produced from cows bred specifically for milk production, including British Friesian and Holstein Friesian. The supermarket always pays its farmers a fair and leading price for their milk.

Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has endorsed animal welfare standards at Waitrose with the Good Dairy Award and CiWF Retailer of the Year Award. In addition, Waitrose has maintained its top tier status for the third year running in the annual Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report, which assesses standards in the world's leading food companies.

Tesco has today announced it is extending its Same Day Click and Collect service, allowing customers to pick up their online groceries more quickly and easily than ever before. Customers can now order an unlimited number of items before 9am and book a two hour window to collect their groceries from midday onwards. This new slot is in addition to the existing offer, where customers can order by 1pm to pick up from 4pm. The service will now be available from more than 300 locations across the UK.

More than 100,000 people will flock to Trujillo in Extremadura in south west Spain during the annual National Cheese Festival, which takes place from 28 April to 1 May this year. The historic main square of Trujillo will fill with stallholders displaying over 300 different Spanish cheeses from Manchego to Ibores, La Serena and the local speciality, Torta del Casar. The six restaurants in the square will all offer traditional recipes incorporating cheeses from the local region as well as other local delicacies including Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, one of Spain's finest hams and dishes using the famous Pimentón de la Vera (paprika).

They're currently some of the trendiest but also trickiest foods to prepare without fuss – pomegranate, beetroot, watermelon and coconut. But now help has arrived from Tesco which has launched the first ever frozen prepared versions that will save shoppers time, hassle and help reduce food waste. The new products will also help shoppers cut down on food waste in the home by allowing them to use only what they need and keep the rest in the freezer.

Waitrose has made a commitment to growing British salad leaves all year round, as part of their ongoing support for UK farming. The new and innovative growing system is a UK first and has been in development since 2014. The leaves are grown in a 1.5 hectare glasshouse which uses state-of-the-art energy production systems that run efficient LED lighting, heating and watering, reducing the environmental impact.

Lancashire growers have pulled off a coup by getting the first UK grown strawberries of the year on supermarket shelves in February. It's believed to be one of the earliest ever arrivals for Britain's favourite home-grown fruit, having been helped by a mild winter and the recent warmer temperatures. The first English strawberries were be on sale at selected Tesco stores yesterday.

On your marks, get set, get chocola-tea! Big Chocolate Tea is back and The Sick Children’s Trust is asking you to join in the fun this April to raise money for families with seriously ill children. Big Chocolate Tea is The Sick Children’s Trust’s biggest annual fundraising event for chocolate, tea and baking lovers, running from Friday 21 April to Monday 1 May. Take part by hosting a tea party, cake sale or bake-off and donate the proceeds to The Sick Children’s Trust to support families with seriously ill children in hospital across the UK.

Chocolate lovers should look no further for their Easter treat after Tesco's finest* Belgian Milk Chocolate Hidden Egg has beaten the best of the high street, including luxury artisan rivals, to be voted the Good Housekeeping Easter Egg of the Year. It's the second year in succession that Tesco has won the coveted award. This year, the judges were impressed by the award-winning Hidden Egg and praised its decadent look and 'meltingly smooth chocolate.'

Morrisons has launched a search for the West Midland’s best food and drink producers and is inviting suppliers from across the region to pitch for a place on its shelves. The search means that customers will be able to buy more food from Morrisons that was grown or made in the West Midlands. The supermarket already stocks lots of the foods the West Midlands is famous for,  from Staffordshire Oatcakes to Shropshire Blue Cheese.

Organic foods in Britain are experiencing the strongest growth in customer demand for over a decade. In the last year alone, Tesco has seen organic sales rise by 15 per cent. While fruit and vegetables continue to be the most popular choice for shoppers, over the last 12 months the retailer has seen increasing numbers of customers looking to buy organic fish, dairy produce and general grocery items.

Mr Lee's Noodles Company are an award-winning brand of "100% tasty, 0% nasty" gourmet, gluten-free noodles in a cup. Unconventional for this market, Mr Lee's primary retail points are not supermarkets or retailers, but rather their own innovative 'Noodle Kiosk' vending machines that create an engaging user experience tailored to specific audiences.  Through the use of new technologies created in cooperation with leading software and hardware experts, the company has developed a modern, secure, Microsoft Azure IoT, cloud-based platform that allows for remote, digital management of the kiosk's mechanical and financial functions.

Rubén Cabrera, Head Chef of gourmet restaurant La Cúpula, located within Tenerife's five-star Hotel Jardines de Nivaria, has won the 'Best Chef in the Canary Islands' award at the prestigious ¡Qué Bueno! Canarias Heineken regional gastronomy awards. The Spanish Chef receives the highest distinction due to his constant creativity, innovation and passion for gastronomy excellence, which has made La Cúpula a must-visit restaurant for fine-diners in Tenerife.

Leiths School of Food and Wine, set up by TV legend Prue Leith in 1975, has chosen to support City Harvest London, who redistribute fresh surplus food to organisations that feed the hungry. Leiths Managing Director Camilla Schneideman said: “We're delighted to announce that our charity of the year for 2017 is City Harvest London. This amazing organisation helps to feed those who need it most, while reducing the environmental impact of wasting food.”

In honor of Scotland’s gift to the world, to the spirit that has long drawn people in through its status and style, the inaugural International Scotch Day was celebrated worldwide. The day invited people everywhere to raise a glass of Scotch to celebrate a drink that’s made to be enjoyed with good company, wherever and whenever.