Morrisons issues blue passports to its lamb joints to show they are sourced from Britain

In order to coincide with Easter Sunday, where roast lamb is a traditional favourite in households around the country, Morrisons wanted to prove that their lamb is100% British. After this supermarket chain conducted research regarding the sourcing of food, they found that one of the most prominent issues that their customers cared about was supporting British farmers. This survey found that 68% of shoppers preferred British produce, 48% citing the freshness of food and 28% citing the quality of the food in relation to this. Approximately a third of lamb currently sold in British supermarkets actually originates from overseas, but after listening to their customers, Morrisons are attempting to change this. Although over two thirds of Morrisons food is British, their recent vow to source British lamb is part of a wider initiative to sell more food that is not only British, but locally sourced. Morrisons are now working closely with British farmers in order to sell 100% British lamb, just in time to meet the increased seasonal demand. Even though Morrisons sourced 650,000 lambs from 1,150 British farmers last year, this year they are pushing to increase this, moving away from their usual New Zealand and Australian sourced lamb. This supermarket chain is able to offer British sourced lamb because it buys direct from British livestock farmers, and by working closely with them they ensure they have enough lambs available to meet the huge demand from shoppers over the Easter period. Morrisons won’t just be selling the traditional lamb of leg this Easter though, as the retailer will be offering a selection of unusual British lamb cuts over Easter, including shoulder joints and lamb guard of honour. In order for Morrisons to show this change in the sourcing of produce, they have provided their lambs with blue passports, the design of which is similar to the British passports which were first introduced in 1921 and which are set to be reintroduced in 2019. The Morrisons passport is even complete with its own crown and crest. Paul Allman, Lamb Buyer at Morrisons states that “Our customers want to buy British and support local farmers so we’re making a clear promise that if you buy fresh lamb at Morrisons this Easter - it will be British. Our great value lamb – complete with its own blue passport – will help more families put a great British roast on their table this Sunday.”