Traceability

In today’s generation, the traceability of products has become one of the most important aspects of the UK’s meat supply chain. Standards and regulations in the meat industry have changed over the decades. Gone are the days when butchers and their customers assumed their meat products were from safe and reliable sources. Nowadays, they can gain detailed insights into the entire journey of their meat products with the addition of traceability.

What Is Traceability?

If you are unsure what traceability is, it is the ability to trace a food-producing animal through each stage of the supply chain – production, processing and distribution. Essentially, it helps track meat products from farm to fork. Through each stage, records need to be updated and include a product description, volume or quantity, weight, name and address of the supplier, batch number, trace code and packaging date.

Why Does Traceability Matter?

chicken in plastic packaging on a conveyor belt

Food Safety

Traceability ensures food safety by providing efficient and accurate withdrawals and recalls of unsafe food products from the shelf if an incident occurs. For instance, E. coli contamination, foreign object contamination, allergens or quality defects. It allows retailer butchers to trace meat products back to their origin or source if a recall is necessary, then identify and address the incident quickly and accurately.

woman choosing meat from meat corner in a supermarket

Quality & Assurance

When meat is being traced, it ensures a high-quality product ends up on retailer shelves and customer’s plates. Traceability also gives retailers and their customers peace of mind and assurance, knowing that their meat products are sourced and delivered to rigorous standards.

Industry Regulations

Any slaughterhouse, abattoir or cutting plant in the UK - including HP Westwood is subject to stringent regulations such as the Food Safety Act 1990 and standards set by leading government bodies such as the Food Standards Agency and the Red Tractor. Not only does our traceability system fully comply with these regulations and standards, but it also shows our dedication to animal welfare, quality and safe consumption.

For More Information, Get In Touch With Us Today

At HP Westwood, all of our meat products are freshly prepared, inspected, handpicked and 100% traceable. Each beef, pork or lamb product supplied by us is labelled and can be traced back to which farm and which animal it has come from. We work with accredited local Staffordshire farms and nurture close relationships with our farmers.

As your wholesale meat supplier, we ensure that you receive full transparency about the traceability of your meat products. If you are a farmer or a retailer and would like to learn more about our traceability system, please contact us and a member of our team will be happy to inform you further and answer any of your questions.