For decades, third-party assurance schemes such as Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured have been essential in giving consumers confidence in the quality and safety of food.

Set up following significant outbreaks of animal disease, such schemes aimed to increase the welfare of farm animals and restore public confidence in British products.

However, as these programs have grown, so has dissatisfaction among farmers, processors and retailers looking at costs, red tape and whether they provide the reputational protection they claim.

Farmers who were promised a premium for participation have seen it disappear in an increasingly commercialized market, while some retailers have set up their own schemes involving more expensive inspections.

See also: How the farm insurance assessment is progressing

Now the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (Goals) believes that by capitalizing on advances in technology and changes in government policy, a new approach could provide a more effective alternative.

Norman Bagley, senior adviser at Aims, says: “This is an attack on a very, very expensive third-party audit system that doesn’t do what it says on the tin.”

Unique platform

The new system, Vetasure, will bring real-time data from a wide range of sources into one platform for the first time.

At its heart will be information generated by Defra-funded Animal Health and Welfare Pathway (AHWP) reviews, which are carried out on farm in England by vets.

As standard, vets performing these reviews will collect 75% of the data requested in a Red Tractor audit.

The farmer will then be able to pay a top-up fee of £100-150 for the vet to collect and record the rest of the information required by Red Tractor, plus any additional requirements of individual traders.

As this ‘audit’ is carried out by a competent authority – a government vet – it can also be used to certify exports.

Legal requirements

Jason Aldiss, chief executive at Aims, worked with a Cabinet Office team to explore an electronic border system for animal products that could integrate seamlessly with Vetasure to enable smoother international trade.

The intention is for products from farmers using the portal to be able to carry the ‘Quality Meat From Britain’ label, used by AHDB to market UK meat overseas.

Uninsured livestock farmers who are part of the AHWP will automatically become insured at minimal cost.

All information from these reviews will be entered into an app by the farmer, generating a QR code.

“This QR code will go all the way through the supply chain,” says Tony Goodger, head of communications at Aims.

“If you’re a UK consumer who wants a bit more information, you can scan the QR code and it will tell you where the meat comes from.

“If you are a processor and need to do your traceability checks, you can also scan the QR code.

“But what’s more exciting is that if you’re in China or Indonesia, you can scan the QR code and it will tell you about the supply chain for this quality British meat in your local language.

“Uses GPS to identify where the person scanning the code is.”

funding

Although Defra plans to stop funding AHWP assessments in three years, it is expected that they will become a statutory requirement at that time.

Aims estimates these vet visits will cost the farmer around £750, but there could be an opportunity to spread this cost across the supply chain as the information will be so valuable.

Meanwhile, Aims believes Vetasure will allow ministers to demonstrate that AHWP assessments have delivered value for money to the taxpayer.

Although Vetasure will initially be launched in England, Aims is confident the portal can be linked to similar schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland and that Wales will follow Defra’s lead further.

Game changer

The system is expected to be a game changer for catering butchers in the food service sector as well as retailers.

“Everyone I spoke to wanted to know if this could prevent fraud,” says Mr Bagley.

“I’m not saying this will stop fraud completely, because people will find a way, but it will go a long way in stopping the substitution of imported meat and bad meat.”

The system also works in the other direction.

If a processor has detected a problem with animals from a particular farm, for example, an alert will be sent to the vet who carried out the AHWP assessment.

This would then trigger a return visit to the farm to establish an improvement plan.

Mr Goodger says: “We are producing a system that will have consumer trust and brand reputation, while providing increased transparency and reduced administrative costs.”

Saving

Aims estimated the cost of third party insurance for beef, lamb and pork farmers to be £7.2m, while primary and secondary processors spend £45m, excluding British Retail Consortium audit costs (BRC).

For retailers, the cost of third party insurance is around £50m. The group believes the move to Vetasure will therefore remove at least £100m of costs from the food supply chain.

They also say this figure is “conservative” because feedback they’ve received from the industry shows there’s appetite for further integration with production systems that will save more money.

“We’ve spoken to retailers and they’re already trying to reduce the draining costs of their compliance units,” says Mr Bagley.

“The retail consultant we are working with said they would accept this system based on cost alone.”

Other benefits

However, the benefits for retailers are more than just cost savings.

Sophisticated AI analysis of all data held on Vetasure will help identify any risks of animal disease or supply chain fraud, such as more ‘British’ meat leaving a processor than going into it.

If a problem is found, a red alert will be issued, which will trigger “remote witness assurance”.

“Using a phone camera, a retailer can instruct an on-site technical manager to collect samples and witness the person putting the samples into test tubes and attaching a QR code,” says Mr Goodger.

This sample will then be sent for provenance testing, with results in four to five days, instead of the current four to five week timeframe.

Cost to the farmer

So how much will it cost a farmer to join Vetasure?

“When we approve the concept we will see if there is any additional cost to the system, which could mean a £50 or £100 subscription, but the aim is for it to be free at the point of use,” says Mr Bagley . .

“The original app was actually designed for exports, so we’re using existing technology, which means we didn’t have to go out and spend hundreds of thousands on research.”

At the moment, the system is still being tested by a well-known retailer and processor, but Aims has been in discussions with several major companies along the supply chain, as well as agricultural unions and AHDB.

“I’ve yet to meet anyone who says ‘we don’t like this,'” he says.

“And why wouldn’t you like something that can take £100m of cost out of the supply chain? Defra gave us a once in a lifetime gift with AHWP reviews.

“Even in New Zealand, people say they can only aspire to that.”

Asked if he thinks Vetasure will spell the end of third-party insurance, My Bagley says: “We have no interest in what other insurance schemes do if retailers accept it.

“If they want to continue, they would have to convince retailers that they have something valuable to sell, which requires an additional visit. Good luck with that.”