Buyer Beware – NFU Lodges Complaint with Trading Standards over Fake Farm Names

19th Aug 2016 05:06 AM

Tesco and other supermarkets using fake farm brands have received complaints from the NFU. It is claimed that the fictitious brands mislead consumers because they believe they are in fact buying UK farmed produce.
 
The NFU lodged complaints with Trading Standards over the misleading use of farm names. Tesco’s were called out in particular owing to them introducing seven made up farm brands which they launched earlier on in 2016. Research commissioned by the NFU via YouGov found that three in five people said they would feel misled if they thought such products were “definitely” or “probably” British, only to find they originate from overseas.
 
Tesco were under fire earlier in the year when it was revealed that the farm names on the packaging were completely made up. Chicken, beef and blueberries were all found to come from manufactures with no relation to the names on the packaging. In fact, Tesco confirmed that some of the foods that were given British names to make them sound ‘local’ were actually imported.
 
Investigations are currently ongoing as the Trading Standards Institute look at whether fake farm branding complies with relevant legal requirements.