Recently, the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines hosted a two-part virtual event promoting UK pork in the Philippines.
The first part of the event consisted of a presentation from the Chamber’s event partner, the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) which highlighted animal welfare and traceability.
During the presentation, AHDB’s Senior Exports Manager Susan Stewart shared with the audience how it is unique to the UK that the Five Freedoms are part of the law. She said, “These five freedoms mean that animals are protected to ensure that they can live in a natural way, exhibit natural behavior, and be free from pain and discomfort.”
The Five Freedoms are a globally recognized standard for animal welfare encompassing both the mental health and physical well-being of animals, which include: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury, and disease, freedom to express normal and natural behavior, and freedom from fear and distress.
In terms of traceability, Stewart mentioned how they have a fully traceable supply chain enhanced by their quality assurance schemes such as Red Tractor.
Red Tractor Assurance is a quality assurance scheme in the UK that underpins the high standards for British food & drink, following production processes rigorously.
Steward added, “This does give customers and consumers the confidence that you get what is written on the packet and you can trust what you’re buying because it is safe and healthy and quality food for you to enjoy.”
Major Philippine importers were in attendance as they met with UK pork suppliers in the business matching portion of the event. The UK pork suppliers included Cranswick, Pilgrims Pride, Wicks Manor, Norwest Foods International, Karro Food Group and GPS Food Group.
