Supermarket Review - Week 1 Asda

Supermarkets are often labelled the bad boys of the food industry, but as a nation we would be pretty hungry without them. The UK is around 70% self-sufficient in beef, and 80% of this UK-produced beef is retailed through their outlets. It is therefore in the industry’s best interests to work alongside the supermarkets, discovering what works best for both parties, and trying to change the things that don’t.

As we move inexorably towards Brexit and the new trade deals this will bring, the National Beef Association will be looking into the beef sold in UK supermarkets. While we accept that our current level of self-sufficiency requires imported beef to be used, we expect sourcing policies to be ethical, food production standards to be high and such products to be clearly labelled with country of origin.

We hope that by drawing attention to the good, the bad and the ugly in each supermarket, we can congratulate them on their positive contributions, whilst encouraging a change in policy to improve any negatives which are discovered. This series will run over several months, and we expect some surprises along the way. Prices will not be commented on.

First on the list is Asda. Several branches were visited, both across the Midlands, and in London.

What did we find…

In all visited stores, there was a very good range of products from value mince to low fat/lean mince, diced beef, steaks and roasting joints. Due to the Covid-19 situation, meat counters are temporarily closed.

What did we like..

Fridge meats – all fridge meats were clearly marked with country of origin, and country of slaughter (if this differed)

Fresh ready meals – products in this range were labelled clearly. 100% of products on offer were produced using beef from the UK, and several made reference to Red Tractor Assurance.

Frozen meat - the majority of products were clearly labelled as British/UK or Irish produce.

Online services – Good selection of British beef in frozen, fresh and ready meal beef options.  We especially liked the ability to select British products only, with the UK flag easily identifiable and easy for the consumer to see and make the choice to buy British.

We really liked the pop-up advertisements advertising ‘Make it A Steak Night, which is the campaign run and funded by AHDB. 

The clear labelling of the British flag on the front of packaging again makes it easy for customers to buy British

  What we weren’t so keen on…

The Smart price range differed during our visits and labelling was ambiguous. Country of origin didn’t appear on some of these items, which is something we would really encourage. Let the consumer decide!

What we really didn’t like…

If it’s meat-free, it’s not a meatball, and if it’s a meatball it’s not meat-free!

Overall, our visits to Asda left us with far more positives than negatives. In particular, the clarity and transparency of the labelling left a very good impression, and  -with the exception of the Smart Price range -  country of origin was clearly defined. The majority of beef on sale was from the UK or Ireland. In some stores we visited, the majority of beef was Irish; we would prefer that UK beef was sourced in larger quantity.

As for the meat-free meatballs - this is something we feel very strongly about, and will be the subject of a future campaign calling for definition and classification of meat-free products.

Asda were approached for comment on these findings, and for their views on the following questions. Please see the responses from Dr Chris Brown, Head of Sustainable Sourcing  at Asda.

1- During covid-19, the market for home grown beef has been bullish (pun intended). Do you see this trend continuing during the next few months?   Chris Brown-Beef sales have been remarkably positive through the lockdown period. With continued return to more normalised life and, fingers crossed, good summer weather, sales of BBQ etc products will be buoyant. This means higher demand for beef and, importantly, better carcase balance with high forequarter use.  ASDA customers are recognising the quality of our beef; ASDA Extra Special steaks sales are up over 50% year on year and our burger sales are up over 30%.

2- During Covid-19, supermarkets have retailed a higher % of the total carcase. Moving forward, do you have plans to keep the extra market share? Chris Brown-There has been a shift to top tier, Extra Special, products as people part replace restaurant eating. I suspect that there will be some rebalancing as restaurants re open or are able to accommodate more diners. 

3- Environmental concerns are always at the forefront of modern beef production. In what way do you consider the environmental impact of using imported beef within procurement agreements? Our British fresh beef is supplemented with out of balance Irish cuts. Chris Brown- These are sourced from Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance scheme farms. As you may be aware all these farms have a carbon footprint calculated as part of the scheme.

4-We have had several reports of stagnation or decreasing sales of meat-free products at the start of the pandemic. Is this your experience, and do you think this trend is continuing? Chris Brown- We did see declines in demand for plant based products at the start of the lockdown. There has been some recovery but plant based remains a low proportion of total meals.

5-The NBA plan to campaign for country of origin information to be clearly shown on all ready meals containing beef, enabling full traceability, and customer choice. What are your thoughts on this?  Chris Brown-ASDA is committed to transparency on country of origin and other sourcing information for our products. Given the size and complexity of our ranges including the practicalities of operating food factories, there are limits to how we deliver this ambition. We keep labelling information under continual review. I think that food suppliers including restaurants and caterers should be informing customers of origin of food.