Half page adverts highlighting the traceability and provenance of fresh beef, lamb, pork and bacon bearing the Red Tractor and Quality Standard Mark (QSM) assurance scheme labels will appear in all national newspapers on Saturday, February 16. A further advert will run in the Evening Standard on Monday, February 18.

Anecdotal evidence from retailers has suggested that consumer demand for assured fresh meat has remained robust during the horse meat scandal and consumers are increasingly looking for assurance marks when buying meat products. A Kantar poll also revealed that 20 per cent of consumers have indicated that they would buy more fresh meat and 13 per cent would buy more locally sourced meat.

Karen Hughes, interim head of marketing for BPEX, said: “We know that from the anecdotal evidence we are hearing from multiple and independent retailers that consumer confidence in fresh meat is still strong.

“Our advertising reiterates that by looking for the Red Tractor assurance marks on packs of pork and bacon, consumers can rest assured that what they are buying is fully traceable.

“Provenance of products is important for our consumers and independent auditing, which is already a key requirement of the Red Tractor scheme, will be central to ensuring consumer confidence.”

BPEX is the organisation for pig levy payers in England and is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).