StaroftheSea
Registered User
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- 114
Hi all,
I heard last night that there is a new initiative to identify Irish milk to consumers , so that they can "make an informed decision" when they go to the supermarket. This it is believed will help in promoting more sales of milk that has beeen produced here in Ireland.
Could I just assist in this worthwhile campaign by telling you all of another way I've noticed of distuingishing between Irish and non Irish (mostly Northern Irish) milk...the PRICE. I paid 1 60 in the local yesterday for Sunny Days (i think?) milk, compared to 2 50 for the same amount of locally produced milk, sitting beside it on the shelf. 90cent difference for those of you not great at the old maths, on a 2 litre carton. So for a fiver I can have 4 litres of local Irish milk, or 6 litres of dangerous foreign milk..(how do we know it even comes from cows? I mean what regulations do they have up there in the North anyway.....?)
I am a part time farmer myself, and I'm all for supporting local farm produce and enterprise, but surely we must realise that cost is the most critical factor for most people with most products.... A limp initiative like the one mentioned above will not I believe make a significant difference to the sale of Irish milk.....we already know which is Irish-it's the dear stuff. ...and considering that I will drive out of my way to go to the petrol station with the cheapest petrol, which is usually only a few cent per litre cheaper, I am certainly not prepared to pay pay 90 cent more for a litre of milk.....I mean you wouldn't do it for the petrol......)
.....especially when there is not compromise in quality....
Second Point...
Isn't there already a very good system of labelling Irish produced meat in this country...i.e. the Quality Symbol. This IMO is an excellent sytem which clearly identifies Irish products on the supermarket shelf ....
(said shelves can be very deceiving.....just look at Denny sausages for example or any of the pre packed hams or any prepacked sausages now that I think of it.....actually I defy anyone to go to the supermarket and find a pack of sausages with the Q sign on it... They didn't exist the last time I looked.....which means of course that the meat in those products hasn't been sourced in Ireland. another very interesting brand is 'Ballyfree'.... check it out. It's on almost every shelf in every supermarket and corner store in the country. It's products include everything from sausages to chicken to ham, in a variety of presentations. It's name suggests Irish - 'Bally' is distinctly Irish, and 'Free' conjours up images of chickens and pigs happily wandering about on acres of green pasture somewhere down in the Golden Vale.....really happy animals like on the Shaun the Sheep cartoons.... The reality is much much different I fear.....the absence of the Quality mark being the giveaway.)
...back to the point.....
....is it beyond the realm of reasonability to suggest that the milk producers could have adopted this system for identifying their Irish products? After all both meat and milk producers share a common goal.....i.e. to promote their products and make them clearly identifyable... So instead of confusing us more with various different symbols meaning this and that, we could have one universal symbol.....
I had a third point but I've forgotten it now......(had I been drinking Irish milk I probably wouldn't have.....but there you go....!
All opinions eagerly awaited!
I heard last night that there is a new initiative to identify Irish milk to consumers , so that they can "make an informed decision" when they go to the supermarket. This it is believed will help in promoting more sales of milk that has beeen produced here in Ireland.
Could I just assist in this worthwhile campaign by telling you all of another way I've noticed of distuingishing between Irish and non Irish (mostly Northern Irish) milk...the PRICE. I paid 1 60 in the local yesterday for Sunny Days (i think?) milk, compared to 2 50 for the same amount of locally produced milk, sitting beside it on the shelf. 90cent difference for those of you not great at the old maths, on a 2 litre carton. So for a fiver I can have 4 litres of local Irish milk, or 6 litres of dangerous foreign milk..(how do we know it even comes from cows? I mean what regulations do they have up there in the North anyway.....?)
I am a part time farmer myself, and I'm all for supporting local farm produce and enterprise, but surely we must realise that cost is the most critical factor for most people with most products.... A limp initiative like the one mentioned above will not I believe make a significant difference to the sale of Irish milk.....we already know which is Irish-it's the dear stuff. ...and considering that I will drive out of my way to go to the petrol station with the cheapest petrol, which is usually only a few cent per litre cheaper, I am certainly not prepared to pay pay 90 cent more for a litre of milk.....I mean you wouldn't do it for the petrol......)
.....especially when there is not compromise in quality....
Second Point...
Isn't there already a very good system of labelling Irish produced meat in this country...i.e. the Quality Symbol. This IMO is an excellent sytem which clearly identifies Irish products on the supermarket shelf ....
(said shelves can be very deceiving.....just look at Denny sausages for example or any of the pre packed hams or any prepacked sausages now that I think of it.....actually I defy anyone to go to the supermarket and find a pack of sausages with the Q sign on it... They didn't exist the last time I looked.....which means of course that the meat in those products hasn't been sourced in Ireland. another very interesting brand is 'Ballyfree'.... check it out. It's on almost every shelf in every supermarket and corner store in the country. It's products include everything from sausages to chicken to ham, in a variety of presentations. It's name suggests Irish - 'Bally' is distinctly Irish, and 'Free' conjours up images of chickens and pigs happily wandering about on acres of green pasture somewhere down in the Golden Vale.....really happy animals like on the Shaun the Sheep cartoons.... The reality is much much different I fear.....the absence of the Quality mark being the giveaway.)
...back to the point.....
....is it beyond the realm of reasonability to suggest that the milk producers could have adopted this system for identifying their Irish products? After all both meat and milk producers share a common goal.....i.e. to promote their products and make them clearly identifyable... So instead of confusing us more with various different symbols meaning this and that, we could have one universal symbol.....
I had a third point but I've forgotten it now......(had I been drinking Irish milk I probably wouldn't have.....but there you go....!
All opinions eagerly awaited!