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Answers: Tesco (UK) claim to provide "local" produce. On certain packages (i.e: meat / milk) there are the pictures of local farmers/growers etc. Also on the packaging, there are certain codes that refer to the place/farm of produce. How can I check whether these codes genuinely relate to what Tesco claim?

I have been onto the Tesco website and found no means of cross-referencing the produce codes. I have e-mailed them (Tesco) and received no reply as yet. I have my doubts for a few certain products that claim to be "locally sourced"

For example, I live in Banff, Aberdeenshire. I buy "Local choice milk" and quote: "Buying this semi-skimmed milk supports small local farms near where you live" "We collect the milk locally and sell it locally..."

It fails to state which farm produced the milk and how close the farm is to us. Being Northern Scotland milk, it could have been sourced from anywhere North of Glasgow, up to Wick or Outer Hebridies!

Just how "local" is local?

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Most supermarkets source their milk locally but generally this is collected from many farms and then processed and delivered to the stores. Like you say, local could mean within 100 mile radius of that store. I live in East Anglia and supermarkets sell "exclusively East Anglian" milk. This could mean it comes from any one of four different counties in the area! Similarly, fresh meat should carry a label showing which farm the animals came from and where they were slaughtered. How you find out what these codes mean though is not clear. It is your right as a consumer to know this. Good luck finding out.

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An interesting question. I'll watch the answers. Tesco (or any other shop) should be able to substantiate their claims.

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