Freedom Food pork demand continues to grow

Freedom Food labelled pork is on the increase for the second year running - meaning that availability of Freedom Food pork in supermarkets is higher than ever before. And that spells good news for pigs, higher welfare consumers and Freedom Food farmers.

As reported in The Grocer magazine in July, the amount of pork – including sausages, bacon and cooked ham, as well as fresh pork – carrying the RSPCA’s Freedom Food logo rose by 62 per cent last year compared to 2009. And 2011 looks set to continue that trend with a huge 116 per cent increase recorded in the first quarter of the year, compared to the first quarter of 2010.

According to the UK’s largest supplier of Freedom Food pork products - Cranswick Country Foods - not only is this good news for pigs but for British farmers too. Marcus Hoggarth, account director, said: “Retailers are increasingly demanding the assurance for their customers that Freedom Food provides. It clearly adds value to our product and gives us a competitive edge by helping us differentiate our UK producer supply chain for the British retailer.”

This increase in Freedom Food labelled pork is mirrored by an upsurge in the number of pigs raised under the Freedom Food scheme, also for the second year running. Last year saw a 20 per cent rise with more than 400,000 extra pigs being reared compared to 2009. And this figure has already gone up by another 166,000 animals in 2011, bringing the total number of pigs under the scheme to more than two-and-a-half million currently.

Leigh Grant, chief executive of Freedom Food, said:

This means that more than a quarter of all British farmed pigs are now benefitting from the RSPCA’s welfare standards, which is great progress. It reinforces the fact that shoppers really do have the power to bring about positive changes to farm animals’ lives through what they buy.