Red Tractor Scoops Up Its Second Ice Cream Brand

Red Tractor has awarded its second ice cream brand with Red Tractor certification. The Cow House Dairy, who produce the uniquely branded Udder Stuff and Chatsworth ice cream, were awarded Red Tractor status this September and will be able to feature the Red Tractor mark across their ice cream range.

The company has gained the Red Tractor mark in recognition of the high standards their business meets in terms of their farms, animal welfare, environmental protection, safety and hygiene all of which have been verified by independent inspectors.

Cow House Dairy farmer, Malcolm Sutton says “. The Cowhouse Dairy Sutton family have farmed on the Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire since 1898. Our unique ice cream recipe uses milk from our award-winning Shottle Holstein herd which creates a distinctive, rich creamy flavour. Its great to carry the Red Tractor mark to communicate to our customers the quality standards that go into producing our product and to emphasise the origin of our ice cream.

The Suttons diversified from farming in 2005 into ice cream after four years of meticulous research so that the family business can now bring a locally produced, quality product to a range of local and national outlets, including Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Chatsworth and National Trust.  The ice cream is available in individual portion sizes of 125ml pot, 500ml and 1 litre sizes and is notable for its quirky packaging, featuring Daisy, the graffitied cow.

The ice cream uses milk exclusively from their Derbyshire farm; Cow to finished product in three days! This makes their product very fresh, giving their ice cream a natural creamy taste.  Their ice cream comes in eleven udderly delicious flavours, based as far as possible on natural ingredients including strawberry, blueberry, mint, chocolate and toffee.

For more information on Red Tractor and details on how to join the scheme, please visit www.redtractor.org.uk.

• High profile brands licensed to Red Tractor include Carling, Country Life, Silver Spoon, Shreddies, Young’s, Greene King, Rodda’s clotted cream. Contract caterers and wholesalers include Sodexo and Brakes’ Prime Meats.

• July 2010 saw Red Tractor certify its first ice cream, Cornish brand, Callestick.

• Red Tractor helps demonstrate the high standards followed by producers and gives consumers the assurance they need that the food they are buying meets strict standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection with a guarantee of origin.

• The flag in the Red Tractor logo guarantees the origin of the food. So the Union Jack flag tells you that the product has been farmed, processed and packed in the UK.

• The Red Tractor logo provides transparency for consumers and differentiates quality assured products.

• Red Tractor standards are maintained all the way from farm to pack. All Red Tractor farmers, processors and packers are regularly inspected by independent experts who conduct thousands of audits each year offering consumers total transparency and traceability.

• AFS is owned by all links in the UK food chain from farmers to retailers.

• The Board of AFS includes respected scientists, prominent academics and experienced professionals from the fields of veterinary science, farming, animal welfare, food processing, retailing and trading standards.

• The Red Tractor logo now features on products with an annual retail sales value of 10 billion. All major retailers and more than 500 leading companies use the logo.

• The Red Tractor scheme was launched in 2000 bringing together producers, processors and retailers in a whole chain assurance scheme with a guarantee of origin that has gone from strength to strength. Red Tractor represents a unique and holistic assurance of quality production from farm to outlet. The comprehensive range of standards cover the production of chicken, pork, lamb, beef, turkey, fruit, vegetables, salad, flour, cereals, dairy products and drinks such as beer.

• Standards for all sectors (e.g. chicken, dairy, vegetables etc.) have been developed and are regularly revised by some of the top industry experts to ensure that food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards are maintained and continually reflect consumer demand.

• For Food businesses, Red Tractor reinforces their messaging to customers about the importance of assured quality, traceable, food that meets high standards of due diligence.