Meat supplier beefs up sales in wake of scandal

The Bedale-based Yorkshire Dales Meat Company provides burgers, steaks and meatballs to the supermarket and its range is stocked at 50 Asda stores across Yorkshire, the North East, North West and North Midlands.

Financial director James Knox said: “We’re obviously very pleased with these sales figures and put it down to consumers looking to buy meat – and, in particular, beef – from trusted sources since the beginning of the horsemeat scandal.

“These tremendous figures also show great confidence in our beef products sold in the supermarket, and in the brand that we’ve worked so hard to create. We pride ourselves on knowing exactly where our meat comes from.

“If meat doesn’t actually come from our own farm, then you can be sure that it will have been sourced from suppliers that we know and fully trust.”

The firm’s sales performance contrasts with the national picture. Last month, the Yorkshire Post revealed annual British meat sales were down by one per cent.

The figures, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), showed that some 6,000 fewer tonnes of UK meat was sold in the last year.

Consumer habits dictated by the weather, changes to the size of meat packs by supermarkets and promotions of cheap meat imports distorted the overall picture, the AHDB said.