Mar 20 2008
Boots won’t let on where their meat comes from
A while ago — I’m pretty sure it was before the Christmas holidays, so on the order of months anyway — I sent a query to Boots’ Customers Services email address, asking about their Meal Deals.
I wanted to know where they got their meat and eggs, were they free range, ethically-treated or other appropriate category, and could they please think about adding this information to their website if not on the packaging itself.
The reply arrived today, after I’d long since given up.
All of our meat is sourced from approved suppliers, which are audited for quality and safety on a regular basis. Sources are always subject to change depending on season and availability. It is a not a requirement to be specific this is why the details are not on the pack.
I hope this information is of assistance to you.
In fact, no, this information is of almost no assistance to me. It tells me virtually nothing, or than the fact that Boots are keeping very tight wraps on the provenance of their food, so it can’t be all that great. Otherwise they would be shouting their hippy bona fides from the highest treetops.
- “approved suppliers”
- Approved by whom, for what purpose? This could mean nothing more than it’s legal for sale to humans in the UK.
- “audited for quality and safety”
- Again, no indication whether this auditing process returns good results or whether these suppliers are consistently threatened with losing their licence. It could be either.
- “always subject to change”
- This probably means they go with the cheapest supplier at the time.
Most disappointed. Though fearing the worst I have given up eating their meat-based sandwiches. And on good days, like today, I take in home made curry. ;-)