Farmstead accreditations & policies

We are accredited by the Quality Standard Mark Scheme

AHDB beef & lamb is the board representing beef and lamb levy payers in England. Bidfood are proud to be accredited by the AHDB so you can trust the quality, integrity and consistency throughout the supply chain for our wholesale beef and lamb products.

Bidfood are accredited to sell the Quality Standard Mark Scheme which is the golden standard of the AHDB, making sure we can guarantee the eating quality of our products through rigorous standards for quality beef and lamb production.

Our sole focus for our fresh beef and wholesale lamb offering is to make sure we offer consistently high quality dishes and ingredients that customers have come to expect from Bidfood. This not only gives you our customer the confidence in the dishes you are producing but also protects your reputation and that of your business.

The National Farmers Union

The NFU represent the body for agriculture and horticulture with 55,000 members covering two-thirds of the agricultural land in England and Wales. The union works across all sectors including dairy; livestock; poultry; horticulture; sugar and combinable crops.

Bidfood benefit from a working relationship with their food chain team who engage with the supply chain after the food has left the farm. The NFU recognise the importance of us working in the foodservice sector, how diverse the offering is and how to support the supply chain between the farm gate to your chef’s table.

The NFU also appreciate that chefs and caterers are increasingly seeing the importance of being able to offer their customers home-grown British produce, from all of the farming sectors. Meat is a key part of this offering, and we see the value in being able to work with the NFU on providing you with the highest quality products from farm to fork.

What is halal meat?

Halal is Arabic for permissible. Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. The Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry, dhabiha, involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe.

Animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood is drained from the carcass. During the process, a Muslim will recite a dedication, known as tasmiya or shahada.

There is much debate between Halal accreditation board as to whether stunning is allowed. Stunning cannot be used to kill an animal, according to the Halal Food Authority (HFA), a non-profit organisation that monitors adherence to Halal principles. It can be used if the animal is in a recoverable state and is then killed Halal methods. All of Farmstead’s Halal meat range is stunned in the slaughtering process to ensure the best standard of animal welfare.

Farmstead offer a range of Halal products sourced form Halal accredited producers. Our policy for Halal is that  the supplying site itself must be accredited by a Halal accreditation body, not merely the product, thus ensuring that the provenance of the meat is not compromised, causing it to become Haraam.

Animal welfare policy

Our policy is that all of our fresh meat must come from approved and BRC accredited abattoirs and that the meat supplied is compliant with the EU Animal Welfare Directive 98/58/EC. We are also able to source meat that is compliant to higher welfare standards such as Red Tractor, QMS and Freedom Foods.