Suppliers of red meat to caterers must provide certain information, and this must be accurate. The table below is a guide to how pre-packed meat, intended for supply to a catering establishment, should be labelled to provide useful information for the caterer.
| Required by law |
Example |
 |
| Product name |
Beef - T-bone steaks |
| Product description/cut |
Beef sirloin steaks on the bone with fillet attached |
| Supplier name |
Good butchers |
| Supplier address |
High Street |
| Product weight (kg) |
1.2 (Depending on how sold) |
| Use by date (Best before if frozen) |
dd/mm/yy |
| Country of slaughter |
Argentina |
| Product code - Beef and veal only |
Bc 123/2323 |
| Country of origin |
Argentina |
| Slaughter-house approval number |
EC2001 |
| Quantity |
10 |
| Species |
Beef |
The following table details other information which may be of use to the caterer.
| Recommended |
Example |
|
| Storage information |
Keep in bag for best results, transfer into a suitable vessel and drain from juices. Cover and refrigerate. |
| Storage temperature |
1-4ºC |
| Kill date |
dd/mm/yy |
| Maturation |
Bone in? days* |
| Line work number |
V54 |
| Breed |
Belgian Blue/Limousin Cross* |
| Ear tag no |
UK AB1231 54321 |
| Farm |
Hoskins Farm, Lincoln* |
| Classification |
R4L |
*: Denotes that approval must be obtained from DEFRA under the beef labelling scheme.
Packaging should always be as legible as possible in order to improve communication between the butcher and the customer. Make writing clear, bold and large. Ensure that labels can withstand an amount of atmospheric moisture for a period of time as most products will suffer from condensation from refrigeration. Give as much information as possible, your competitor might not!
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