Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs - COVID-19 Correspondence

Supermarkets Response to Committee Concerns on Polish Beef Imports

The Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs expressed concern about recent reports that the ABP Food Group, which supplies meat products to Sainsbury’s and ASDA, had, at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, been distributing Polish beef in lieu of local beef produce to supplement its existing supply arrangements to supermarkets. 

The Committee called on the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to do all that he can to ensure that local beef farmers are prioritised by both supermarkets and processors.

The Committee also wrote to a selection of supermarkets to ask for their response to the reports. The responses of the supermarkets are available below:

• ASDA
• CO OP, Customer Service Centre
• CO OP, Head of Agriculture
• Iceland
• Lidl
• Livestock and Meat Commission
• Marks and Spencer
• Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
• Musgrave NI
• Sainsburys
• Spar
• Tesco