Meat News
The Northumberland Sausage Company has opened its first ever retail outlet located in Newcastle. It has targeted plans for another nine in the next five years.
The brand, called Sausology, opened in Newcastle’s Grainger Market last Monday to an “amazing” response according to the founder of the company Claire Watson-Laney.
The retail outlet sells some of its own range of sausages, of which it has 150 different flavours.
As well as traditional flavours, it offers some more innovative mixes including Pork and Chainbridge Honey, Pork and Lime Pickle and The Northumberland Swirl (450g).
The retail shop also offers customers the opportunity to make their own sausage, allowing people to choose a range of meats as well as ingredients. Customers can have a meeting with the Sausologist and have their ideal sausage made by the staff in-store or can even stay for an hour session and make their own.
The company has been running for five years, originally setting up a small butcher’s shop in Wark, Northumberland. The butcher’s started selling the range of sausages, which became so popular that a factory was set up in West Woodburn, near Hexham.
The company, which has a turnover of over £1m, is now producing in excess of 78,000 sausages per week. It also sells its products to more than 200 retail and catering customers.
“In the next five years we want to be at 10 sites. These will open in different counties and we are looking at Scotland, Leeds, York, Manchester and London.
“In the next site we also want to offer a complete experience day in sausage-making.”
The company currently offers sausage experience days at Brocksbushes Farm Shop, Corbridge which are proving popular.
Premium burger chain, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, has cooked up £1 million of retail sales already this year.
The chain, which has 65 outlets across the country, with three more due to open by the end of December, also supplies to the likes of Waitrose and online supermarket Ocado.
It claims that this sales milestone indicates that customers are continuing to seek the gourmet burger experience without having to step out of their own home.
“Gourmet Burger Kitchen is the only brand that produces restaurant-quality burgers for people to enjoy in the comfort of their own home,” said Laura Mallon, senior brand manager at All About Food, which licences the brand.
The duo pack of 6oz Aberdeen Angus beef burgers sell for £4.49 RRP and are 100% British beef, seasoned with salt and pepper. Gourmet Burger Kitchen claims to offer the only skin-packed burgers on the market, ensuring the product remains fresh for consumers.
Mallon added: “British tastes are now firmly fixed at the gourmet end of the burger market, with shoppers expecting the same size and flavours that they experience in their favourite restaurant from the supermarket shelf.”
New slaughter regulations from Defra regarding the killing of poultry have raised concerns over the welfare of the birds with the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
The organisation is apprehensive of Defra’s decision not to include stunning parameters in the legislation when it involves poultry being slaughtered ‘in accordance with religious rites’. Despite these concerns, BVA, or the most part, has applauded the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (WATOK) Regulations.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has worked hard to evaluate parameters for electrical waterbath stunning of poultry, which has led to European legislation including rules on stunning when it comes to animal welfare at slaughter.
There are fears that if rules are not clearly stated and implemented in electrical waterbath stunning for birds killed ‘in accordance with religious rites’, then the animals will be immobilised rather than stunned when it comes to slaughter. This would result in the animal still being conscious at the time of slaughter.
“In the last year we have seen headlines about the inhumane treatments of animals at slaughter and, while these new WATOK regulations are strong in many areas, we are concerned that the omission of specific parameters for electrical waterbath stunning leaves some poultry vulnerable to ineffective stunning,” explained BVA president Sean Wensley.
The BVA believes that European legislation should be practised throughout WATOK, with fears that taking away the requirements in electrical waterbath stunning may also remove the legal guarantee for effective stunning before slaughter.
In response to these issues, the BVA has voiced its concerns in a letter to Defra, seeking clarification as to how it will be ensured that the bird is stunned before the time of death.
“We have written to Defra outlining our concerns about this gap that undermines the science the regulations are built upon,” continued Wensley.
“It is difficult to see how effective stunning can be assured for all poultry if parameters are not set when poultry are killed in accordance with religious rites. Slaughtermen, official veterinarians and animal welfare officers in abattoirs are not able to tell the difference between birds that have been effectively stunned and those that are just electro-immobilised, thus compromising the animal welfare standards that these regulations are being put in place to protect.”
Tesco is to stop selling lamb products in mixed origin packs following a meeting with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).
From February of next year, the retailer will only supply packs of lamb that clearly state which country the product is from. Tesco had previously come under fire from farmers over the number of product facings they dedicated to produce from non-British countries.
The meeting involved the NFU, NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru, and Ulster Farmers’ Union, as well as the retailer and its processor representative, with the aim of highlighting the role Tesco has to play in supporting the British lamb sector.
A joint statement from the four farming unions said: “The meeting involved robust, but useful discussions where all parties agreed that there was a real benefit in continuing conversations to develop greater transparency in the lamb supply chain.
“At this meeting Tesco has confirmed that at the end of February 2016, it will not be selling lamb products in mixed origin packs. The unions welcome this move as it will allow customers to make an informed decision in the origin of the product that they are buying.”
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We have a long history in supporting UK agriculture and continue to have an open conversation with the NFU and processors on the crucial roles we all have in supporting the lamb industry. We updated them on our plans, which included the single source labelling of products like mince.”
Dalziel Ingredients has added two new graduates to its specialist product development team.
John Camus and Roya Rasouli have joined the company as graduate NPD technologists.
Camus graduated this year with a first-class honours degree in food science and nutrition from Northumbria University after a six-week placement with Dalziel Ingredients last year. –
Rasouli studied at Sheffield Hallam University, where she graduated with an honours degree in food marketing.
A third graduate NPD technologist is also joining later on in the month.
Dr Fiona Caple, Northumbria University’s director of programmes, department of applied sciences, said: “We have a great ongoing relationship with Dalziel. We know our graduates will be exposed to the highest professional standards.”
Dalziel’s product development team advises food manufacturers across the UK on flavour trends, market analysis, factory processes, recipe formulations and product quality enhancements (increasing yields, salt reductions, improved texture and fat reduction).
The company is currently seeing a high demand for advice and ideas for the gluten-free sector.
The National Pig Association (NPA) has praised supermarkets, including Lidl, for giving over more shelf space to British pork
According to the latest Porkwatch survey from AHDB Pork for September, 100% of pork sold by Lidl was British.
The discounter joins the likes of: Aldi, Budgens, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in stocking 100% British pork. Asda and Tesco were reported to have 58% and 63% of facings that were British, respectively.
“We’re delighted with this news and hope Lidl will demonstrate over the months ahead that it isn’t a flash in the pan,” said NPA chairman Richard Lister.
Chief executive Dr Zoe Davies added that supermarkets needed to support the British pork industry and that it would continue to endorse those that do.
She said: “If retailers and foodservice want the convenience of a thriving British pig sector on their doorstep, producing reliable supplies of a quality-assured, traceable, high-welfare product, then it’s essential they make a special effort to source British pork, sausages, bacon and ham over the difficult months ahead.
“We’re carrying on with our Keep It Up campaign, which commends those retailers who have stood by their post-Horsegate pledges to source more British pork.”
According to the NPA, producers are no longer breaking even as a result of falling prices over the past year. The Standard Pig Price has dropped from 151p this time a year ago to 128p this week, while the break-even point is 139p.
China is now the biggest market for UK pork exports outside of Europe, according to AHDB Pork, with strong demand for offal likely to continue to grow.
According to Jean-Pierre Garnier, AHDB Pork’s export manager, the current Chinese market remains full of opportunities. “The conditions in China are favourable. Prices have been rising and there’s not a lot of pork available on the market at the moment. We cannot say forever, but for the foreseeable future we can see strong growth.
It is estimated that China consumes half the pork in the world, he added. However, there is still work to do to ensure that the value of exports keep pace with volumes. “It is important to us to improve the value of what we export to China in terms of added value and making more branded products, as well as better packaging, to make it better for the consumer,” said Garnier
At the moment, the UK exports 28% of the pork it produces. In the month of August, both imports and exports of the meat increased. At just over 30,000 tonnes, pork imports were 8% higher than they were in August last year.
Spain has experienced a 50% rise in export volumes of pork to the UK, according to the levy board. Belgium and Denmark are also key suppliers of the meat, with both countries seeing a 14% rise.
Imports and exports remain a key area for progression, but pig slaughterings in the EU aren’t experiencing the same growth.
Although a rise in slaughterings is expected to continue until at least the middle of next year, they have slowed compared to the first half of 2015, according to AHDB Pork.
This conclusion is constructed around an analysis of figures presented by the European Commission’s pigmeat forecast working group. A report from the levy board highlighted that: “Pig slaughterings are forecast to rise by around 2% year on year in the second half of 2015, with growth slowing to around 1% in the first half of 2016.”
Furthermore, it said that many member states are predicting that pig levels will remain similar to year earlier levels. The strong growth by Spanish output is set to outweigh this stability, though this may also begin to relax by the second quarter of next year.
Bernard Matthews has appointed Andy Deutsch to the new role of chief operating officer
Deutsch, who joined the company on the 5th of October, has worked in the food industry for more than 30 years, across a wide range of roles and organisations.
He brings extensive experience in foodservice, chilled and frozen sectors to the poultry processor’s management team.
“We are delighted to have Andy joining us at what is a very exciting time for the company, as we launch our new brand identity, start our sponsorship of the Simpsons on Channel 4 and introduce British chicken products to our portfolio,” said Rob Burnett, CEO of Bernard Matthews.
“Andy’s experience and understanding of the food industry will play a key role in helping deliver our ambitious plans for the future.
Deutsch added: “Bernard Matthews is one of the UK’s most iconic food brands so it’s a real pleasure to be given the opportunity to be part of the development and growth of the business in this new phase in the company’s history.”
In his new role as chief operating officer Deutsch will be responsible for various different things,including: procurement, supply chain, planning and production.
Before joining the business he worked for Hain Daniels, where he held MD roles in Food to Go & Desserts and its Chilled & Frozen subsidiary.
Previous he also had senior roles at Vion, Northern Foods and Fisher Foods and has worked with a range of consumer brands and retail own-label products.
Bernard Matthews, the largest turkey producer in the UK, is headquartered near Norwich in Norfolk and employs approximately 2,000 people across East Anglia.
It is a totally integrated food business, allowing for full traceability across its 56 farms, which rear nearly seven million turkeys per annum.
Through its farming and production business the company supplies nearly half the homes in the UK with tasty, versatile and affordable turkey and chicken meal time solutions.
With the arrival of autumn, ingredients supplier Unbar Rothon has unveiled six imaginative sausage flavours, created to establish something unique for the market. Cinnamon-flavoured pork and toffee apple, and a warm and spicy pork and mango chutney are among the new flavours.
“We recognise that it is all too easy for an industry to become attached to the familiar and get stuck in the mud,” explained Richard Rothon, director of Unbar Rothon.
Also found among the sausage mixes are a sweet and spicy pork, leek, apple and chilli mix and a spicy apple and black pudding mix. Completing the range are two vegetarian-options, which consists of the flavourings; smoky garlic and thyme, and parsnip honey and thyme.
Rothon added: “We have worked very hard to produce new and interesting ideas, which will make a food offer more interesting – and profitable.”
As well as the new range of sausage flavourings, the business has unrolled a series of ingredients designed for the meatballs and stuffing market.
Leading the launch is a sweet orange and tart cranberry mix. Other flavours are; leek and black pepper, red pepper and shallot, and sage and onion with a hint of black pepper.
Unbar Rothon is not the only company that has noticed a trend for something different in the sausage market.
Snowbird Foods claims to be the leading cooked sausage and meatball supplier. Its products are fully cooked and frozen at factory stage, which allows them to be quickly reheated for the food-to-go and buffet sectors.
The standard Cumberland, Lincolnshire and pork sausages are claimed to be a prepared-to-order breakfast solution that can be microwaved from frozen.
The company has also developed a new Mini Meat Bites range, consisting of cocktail and other small sausages with pork, lamb, beef, chicken and turkey varieties.
“These award-winning bites have attracted a lot of interest and their versatility has enabled us to develop a new market segment in the ingredients area,” said Snowbird’s commercial and marketing director Roy Anderson.
As well as the mini sausages for the buffet market, Snowbird Foods has developed a pork and spiced chorizo sausage that it claims will heat in seconds in the microwave.
The sausage contains an 80% pork content and is presented in a beef collagen casing. They are made using diced chorizo and flavoured with smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, ginger, parsley and garlic.
Anderson explained: “Our chorizo is an ideal solution for those restaurants looking for a sausage that is so different their outlet will stand out from the crowd and attract repeat business.”