York Ice Cream maker is first in the North for Red Tractor certification

A York ice cream manufacturer is celebrating after being the first ice cream manufacturer in the North of England to gain the prestigious Red Tractor certification for the milk and cream for its premium ice cream.

One of only three Red Tractor accredited ice cream makers in the UK, Acaster Malbis based Yorvale joins over 78,000 farmers and growers who are members of The Red Tractor Scheme who are all committed to maintaining high standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection.

Ian Buxton is pleased with the certification; We know that we do a good job, but its always rewarding to have it validated by a third party be it a BRC (British Retail Consortium quality standard) or the Red Tractor assurance inspector.  Increasingly, both consumers and foodservice clients are looking for these assurances and hopefully the certification will help us to secure new business.  It is particularly important given that the caterers for the 2012 Olympics will now be sourcing suppliers and the Red Tractor assurance gives us an edge over our competitors.

The Red Tractor guarantees independent farm assurance, traceability, comprehensive standards and high levels of food safety and animal welfare. Farms that are part of Red Tractor certified supply chains have to comply with independently monitored standards of safety and hygiene that go above legal minimum standards required under UK food hygiene legislation.

Yorvale uses traditional methods and the finest local ingredients to produce rich and creamy dairy ice cream. Its superior tasting ice cream is attributed to the fact that their herd of dairy cows graze on lush Yorkshire grass and because they only ever produce milk for ice cream, they only need to be milked once a day.  The result is stress free cows that produce really creamy milk for superior tasting ice cream.

• Yorvale was founded in 1989 and now employs a team of seven and turns over 650,000 per annum.
• Since its launch by the Prime Minister in 2000, the Red Tractor has united the food chain in raising standards and verifying that they are being met. Shoppers can be confident that food bearing the Red Tractor has been checked every step of the way from farm to pack.
• It is also the firmest guarantee yet that food can be traced right back to the farms from which it came an assurance that is backed up by regular traceback inspections.
• Over 78,000 farmers and growers are now members of the scheme, all committed to maintaining high standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection. The Red Tractor logo can be spotted on thousands of products such as beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, milk, cheese, cream, cereals, vegetables, sugar, flour, fruit and salads in shops and supermarkets everywhere.
• Yorvale’s unique selling points include stress free cows, the use of only natural flavours and colours and locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.
• Yorvale produces an extensive range of dairy ice cream and sorbets. Please call 01904 706702 for availability
• Yorvale prides itself on its quality standards and has been awarded a grade A for BRC accreditation against issue 5 of the standard.
• Yorvale raised over 1000 for local charities including St Leonard’s Hospice during 2009.