News from the UK suggests that supermarket giant Tesco has dropped its carbon labelling scheme after four and a half years, after discovering it was taking too long and costing too much money to document each of its 70,000 products. Only about 500 of the products are labelled, with a further 1,500 in the pipeline. The company retains its commitment to carbon footprinting, but will be shifting to global supply chain issues instead.
The Glammies 2012 judging panel (right to left) are: Prime Minister John Key, Sarah Walker, Ben Batterbury and chief judge Graham Hawkes.
Prime Minister Right Hon Jon Key was on hand at the Upper Clutha A&P Show in Wanaka to select the nation’s best lamb in March.
The Prime Minister joined the judging panel for the 2012 Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Golden Lamb Awards (Glammies) at the A&P show in March. Others on the panel were 2011 Supercross World Cup Champion, Sarah Walker, 2012 B+LNZ ambassador chef Ben Batterbury and chief judge and Invercargill chef Graham Hawkes.
Don Morrison of Gore with his Growbulk lamb was named as 2012 Grand Champion, taking home a cheque for $2,000, the Glammies Grand Champion trophy plus a bottle of Mt Difficulty pinot noir wine. Each finalist won a plaque showing their placing.
The Glammies, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Genetics, attracted a record 150 entries which all underwent testing at Carne Technologies. Factors such as tenderness, colour and succulence were tested to determine the top twenty finalists tasted in Wanaka.
The competition is supported by processing plants across the country, including: Alliance, Ashburton Meat Processors, Auckland Meat Processors, Blue Sky Meats (NZ) Ltd, Land Meat NZ Ltd, Silver Fern Farms and Taylor Preston.
Published in Food NZ magazine (April/May 2012).
The 2012 Wedderburn Sharp Blacks
New Zealand’s top five butchers are preparing for the rematch they’ve waited 12 months for.
The Wedderburn Sharp Blacks are seeking redemption after a narrow loss to Australia in the inaugural Trans Tasman Test Match last year.
Retail Meat New Zealand Manager, Fiona Greig, says the team is rearing to go after being beaten last year.
“The team is already hard at work preparing for the test match. They were gutted after last year’s loss and can’t wait to get the trophy back,” says Greig.
The next outing for the team will be a warm up at the Retail Meat New Zealand conference in March, where their peers from around the country will offer critique and ideas, before the test match in Melbourne versus the Australian team.
This year, Wedderburn are also backing the team. Wedderburn marketing manager – Australasia, Brenda Davenport says, “We are proud of our growing association with Retail Meat New Zealand, and grateful for the opportunity to sponsor this skilled team of butchers.
“Not only does it provide us the chance to support an industry we hold in high regard, but it also allows butchers hands on experience of our full range of meat processing equipment. Go the Wedderburn Sharp Blacks!”
The team, also supported by Beef + Lamb New Zealand Inc, is made up of:
