Scottish Daily Mail

The ‘Gressingha­m’ duck all the way from Thailand

- By Katherine Faulkner and Sara Smyth

THE world-famous name is known for high-quality Suffolk-bred ducks, which proudly bear the Red Tractor mark of quality.

But some of the duck sold under the Gressingha­m logo is being shipped in from farms in Thailand, the Daily Mail can reveal.

This meat is being sold under exactly the same branding as Gressingha­m’s Suffolk-bred birds.

And some customers have been left furious after ordering the products – advertised online as originatin­g in the UK – only to find in the small print that the duck has actually come from south-east Asia.

On the website of online grocer Ocado, it states that the duck in Gressingha­m products has been ‘grown and packed’ on Gressingha­m’s ‘Red Tractor-assured farms in East Anglia’. But some customers

‘Not British as one would assume’

said the packaging – which is not visible online – described the duck as coming from Thailand.

One Ocado customer complained of ‘false advertisin­g’, writing: ‘The duck is “grown on farms in East Anglia” according to the descriptio­n. Country of origin – Thailand according to the packaging. I will not be buying this item again.’ Another wrote: ‘Very disappoint­ed to find the duck is imported from Thailand.’

A third said: ‘Very disappoint­ed and will not buy again, as in the small print it makes it clear it is a Thailand duck, not as one would assume British.’ Gressingha­m is selling its Thai duck products under the same branding as the Suffolk-reared duck. But in some products it is sourcing more expensive cuts – such as duck breast – from Thailand.

In Sainsbury’s – despite the packaging being nearly identical –we found that the Gressingha­m Duck Legs in a plum sauce were from the UK. But the Gressingha­m Duck Breasts in a plum sauce – from the same range – were from Thailand.

Gressingha­m is also selling different versions of its Crispy Half Aromatic Duck. While the packets sold in Waitrose contain duck from Suffolk, those sold in Tesco contain duck from Thailand. Confusingl­y, in Tesco the Crispy Half Aromatic Duck is £7.50 and contains duck from Thailand.

But in Waitrose the Half Aromatic Crispy Duck is £6.99 and contains duck from the UK. The product looks almost exactly the same in both supermarke­ts, with the front of the packet identical except for the wording being ordered slightly differentl­y. Gressingha­m duck was first bred in the Lancashire village of that name when the wild mallard was crossed with the Pekin duck. East Anglia-based Gressingha­m Foods has the exclusive right to breed the succulent birds.

Its website boasts of rearing the duck in East Anglia. However, Gressingha­m admitted that the ducks it sources from Thailand are Pekin ducks.

Despite this the products made with Thai duck meat state ‘Gressingha­m’ in huge letters across the front of the packets.

Gressingha­m said less than 5 per cent of its range used the Thai duck meat, and that the use was ‘specifical­ly for Asiantheme­d recipes’. A spokesman added: ‘The country of origin is stated clearly on all packaging in all instances. Thai breast meat is often cheaper than UK produced breast meat. The packaging also states that these ducks are Pekin breed ducks.

‘We will immediatel­y review the informatio­n on the websites of our retail customers.’

Since the Mail contacted Ocado the Thai duck labelled from East Anglia has been removed from sale on the website. A source said the mislabelli­ng had been accidental.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s said some of their Gressingha­m products contained Thai duck but were clearly labelled as such.

Waitrose said it did not sell any of the Gressingha­m products containing duck from Thailand.

 ??  ?? Spot the difference: The labels say Gressingha­m but the small print reveals that some products contain duck sourced from outside the UK
Spot the difference: The labels say Gressingha­m but the small print reveals that some products contain duck sourced from outside the UK

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