Red Tractor Week set to turn great ingredients into delicious meals

Red Tractor Week is 11^th – 17^th September 2017 and will celebrate great farming and quality food you can trust. The week will draw people’s attention to the great standards that go into food and drink with the Red Tractor label. Red Tractor ensures people can trust the food they eat.  It is the largest food standards scheme in the UK, covering; animal welfare, food safety, traceability and environmental protection.

Red Tractor food and drink has been responsibly produced to some of the most comprehensive and respected standards in the world. All stages are regularly checked by independent experts. All the major UK supermarkets use Red Tractor standards as the basis for their UK sourced food.

This year, for Red Tractor Week, Red Tractor is creating an online recipe book of real people’s favourite Red Tractor meals. Each day will focus on a different key British ingredient and will be supported by a daily competition, and real life stories and videos from the Red Tractor farmers who bring us our food.

Suffolk Red Tractor Farmer, Robert Rous, owner of Dennington Hall Farms, agrees: “We completed our most recent Red Tractor audit just last week. It’s a quality mark that can provide the consumer with great confidence in the origins and treatment of the produce and something we’re immensely proud of. A week to raise awareness of Red Tractor mark and all it stands for is extremely helpful for the farmers who meet the criteria and we’re looking forward to joining in!”

Red Tractor Farmer and BBC Countryfile presenter, Adam Henson said; “What a fabulous week to get out cooking and supporting our wonderful British Red Tractor farmers.  As a Red Tractor farmer myself this is one of my favourite times of year, when the harvest is safely gathered and we can really enjoy the fruits of our labour with so much great food in season.

“This year has been a patchy harvest with mixed quality in wheat and barley, however overall it has been a positive result.  With quality being key, it is more important than ever that the crop is looked after, which is why good standards are important.”

People can take part in Cook Red Tractor Week via social media on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #Trustthetractor and on the Red Tractor website www.redtractor.org.uk

The produce covered will follow this programme:

• Monday 11^th – Poultry (chicken, duck, turkey)
• Tuesday 12^th  – Dairy (milk, cheese, butter)
• Wednesday 13^th – Pork
• Thursday 14^th – Fruit
• Friday 15^th – Beef & Lamb
• Saturday 16^th – Vegetables (including sugar and potatoes)
• Sunday 17^th – Crops (incl. wheat, barley and oats)

Pictured Robert & Teresa Rous of Dennington Hall Farms

Photo credit: Simon Ballard