Compass Group UK & Ireland achieve Red Tractor certification for fresh milk

Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food and support services firm, has received Red Tractor certification for the fresh milk served across its 15,000 UK sites.

Red Tractor certification acts as a mark of quality and trust, ensuring the journey from farm to packaging follows the rigorous standards set by the largest food standards scheme in the UK.

Transparent and ethical provenance is key to gaining the accreditation. This means all fresh milk must originate from responsible British farms, which only use fertilisers and pesticides when completely necessary, and that the whole supply chain is checked to ensure total compliance.

The commitment to buy milk from Red Tractor assured farms only was included in Compass Group UK & Ireland’s Corporate Responsibility Report 2016, published earlier this year. Similar sourcing targets included in the document include the pledge to use 100% cage free eggs by 2025 and ensure all tea, coffee and hot chocolate is ethically sourced by 2020.

Through achieving the certification, Compass will now display the Red Tractor logo at sites throughout the UK - communicating to clients and customers the quality of the fresh milk being served.

Duncan Gray, Head of Corporate Responsibility – Compass Group UK & Ireland, stated: “Gaining Red Tractor certification for all our fresh milk is a fantastic step in providing our consumers and clients with confidence that their milk is sourced from quality British farms.

“In our Corporate Responsibility Report 2016 we outlined a number of key sourcing commitments, with milk being one area of focus. This achievement acts as an indicator of our commitment to delivering all the targets we have set ourselves.”

Richard Cattel, Head of Marketing & Communications – Assured Food Standards (Red Tractor), commented: “We are delighted to be able to certify Compass Group UK & Ireland’s fresh milk. Through working with the catering company we can confirm the sourcing practices meet the high standards we set on quality and provenance.

“Responsible sourcing is paramount to achieving the Red Tractor certification.  As the only whole chain scheme we can ensure that products displaying our logo originate from British farms and are produced to some of the most comprehensive and respected standards in the world.”

-ENDS-

For more information contact:

UK Communications Team
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Uk.communications@compass-group.co.uk
01895 554 999