Caterers sceptical about ‘local sourcing' claims
Hospitality operators are increasingly sceptical about the "local sourcing" claims of their food suppliers, research revealed today.
A survey of 2,000 hospitality businesses, by purchasing consortium Beacon, shows that three-quarters of respondents believe true local sourcing means within a 20-mile radius.
In contrast, many suppliers refer to regional or even national products as "local".
Chris Durant, director of Beacon, said: "This raises a challenge for suppliers: how to meet a practical demand for local products at competitive prices, and within a framework of what ‘local' means.
"The reality is that businesses are not going to get everything they need from within a 20-mile radius or at a price they want to pay."
The survey also revealed that while virtually all respondents (99%) have introduced one or more energy saving or recycling initiatives, fewer than a third are currently recycling.
A lack of outside storage facilities and/or the lack of local recycling services were cited as their biggest challenges.
Elsewhere on the survey, respondents gave an emphatic (88%) thumbs down to the imposition of a Government ‘traffic light' coding system on menus.
Businesses said the proposal was impractical and warned it would bring accusations of nannying as well as overcomplicating the look of menus.
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By Daniel Thomas
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