Red Tractor to pull gold for the Olympics

The Olympic Games is fast approaching, and to celebrate being an integral part of LOCOG’s Food Vision for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Red Tractor is launching Team Red Tractor (‘Team RT’).

Team RT covers Red Tractor farmers, processors and packers, wholesalers and contract caterers that will feed the Olympic athletes, coaches, officials and millions of visitors to the event.

Next week, commencing 30th April, Red Tractor is introducing Team RT’s 7 champion farmers in a 5-day UK tour aimed at school children. The tour will educate local school children on how food is produced and how it makes its way to the 31 Olympic venues providing 14 million meals at the event under the Red Tractor scheme. The farmers cover different sectors including; Dairy, Beef and Lamb, Poultry, Fresh Produce, Crops and Pigs.

[Throughout the 31 competition venues, Red Tractor food will be served to around 23,900 athletes and team officials, 20,600 broadcasters and press and over 9 million visitors. Across the London 2012 Games LOCOG estimate that the athletes and visitors will eat;

• 25,000 loaves of bread, 31 tonnes of poultry items
• More than 100 tonnes of meat
• 75,000 litres of milk, 21 tonnes of cheese
• More than 330 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, and 232 tonnes of potatoes
Richard Cattell, Head of Marketing and Communications at Red Tractor Assurance, the UK’s leading quality food assurance mark, said: “We are extremely proud to be part of the largest peace-time catering operation in the world. We want to increase national awareness of Red Tractor farmers and establish a food legacy which helps to educate children so that they understand where their food comes from.”

Lee Woodger, Head of Food Chain Unit at the NFU said: “The eyes of the world are on our athletes and our farmers. This is an important milestone for Red Tractor and the perfect time to showcase the hard work that UK farmers, growers, food service operators and retailers put into delivering quality food under the Red Tractor scheme all year round. We hope businesses and consumers will support and purchase Red Tractor food as we embrace sustainable catering standards for the future.”

Red Tractor will be launching a Team RT microsite TeamRT.org.uk, and throughout the week will be uploading fun and interesting facts, educational resources for schools and daily activity posts and vox-pops via their social media platforms; Facebook ‘Red Tractor’ and Twitter ‘@RedTractorFood’. Team RT is also showcasing industry experts to advise on various aspects of farming standards and food. (Please see notes to editors for expert details).

For the public attending one of the many events or watching it from the comfort of their home, it’s good to know the Olympic organisers have committed to sourcing quality food with strict standards of production from farm to venue under the Red Tractor Scheme. This means that athletes and visitors alike will be consuming good food that guarantees food safety, quality and traceability.

11bn worth of food is produced under the Red Tractor scheme every year and is available in supermarkets, restaurants, cafes as well as schools, hospitals and defence sites across the UK.
For more information please visit www.redtractor.org.uk.