AFS to celebrate 10 years of Red Tractor

- Published: 22 April, 2010

Assured Food Standards (AFS) has announced it will mark the 10th anniversary of the Red Tractor food assurance scheme with a new Red Tractor Week. Running from 14–20 June, Red Tractor Week will celebrate a decade of food and farming under the Red Tractor logo.

The Red Tractor (RT) logo now features on £10bn-worth of food and drink products. To celebrate this achievement and 10 years of Great Food and Great Farming under the logo, TV presenter, writer and British icon Janet Street Porter has been brought on board to front the Red Tractor Week campaign. AFS last organised an RT week back in 2007.

To encourage Red Tractor members to get involved and push awareness of the week, AFS has launched an online toolkit www.redtractor.org.uk/week. This will provide RT members and supporters with downloadable marketing and promotional material – including ready-made posters, banners, leaflets and shelf barkers. These can then be tailored to match specific activities being organised by the trade, AFS said. The aim of providing the online toolkit is to work in tandem with the industry to enable members and supporters to communicate the values of Red Tractor.

Red Tractor Week will launch with a high-profile photocall with Janet Street Porter. Other activity includes a national media relations campaign, special events at supermarkets, restaurants, pubs and schools around the country, media promotions and giveaways. A specially created on-line Summer Eating Guide to help increase consumer awareness and understanding of the Red Tractor will be made available to consumers free at www.myredtractor.co.uk.

AFS chairman David Gregory said: “Since its launch 10 years ago, the Red Tractor scheme has brought together leading producers, processors and retailers and has gone from strength to strength. Red Tractor represents a unique assurance of quality production across the whole food chain and Red Tractor Week is a celebration of the industry’s achievements over the past 10 years.

“We’ve had extremely enthusiastic feedback from retailers and foodservice providers who are looking to support Red Tractor Week and the online toolkit will really help Red Tractor members get the most out of the week."

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