Can You Be Sure That The Scottish Salmon You Buy This Christmas Is Really Scottish?

Many top supermarkets are ignoring customer demands for Scottish salmon and sneaking imported salmon onto their shelves under a labelling loophole. Despite the fact that two thirds of all people who buy fresh salmon regularly believe that the best salmon in the world comes from Scotland, and that 78% of purchasers consider it important to know where their salmon has come from, many top supermarkets are stocking their shelves with imported salmon this Christmas, without clearly stating its origin, according to Scottish Quality Salmon (SQS).

However, a recent MORI poll for SQS has shown that consumer power is set to strike back! Half of all people across Britain who buy fresh salmon regularly are claiming that they would not buy salmon again from a supermarket if they discovered that the salmon they had bought was not Scottish as they thought, but imported from another country. And around one in ten say they would never buy anything again from that supermarket!

In the survey, two thirds of consumers claimed that they bought Scottish salmon but, in fact, only four in ten could recall having seen a country of origin on the label.

"This indicates", says Scottish Quality Salmon, Marketing Director, Mike Lloyd, "that many of Britain's top supermarkets are taking advantage of Scottish salmon's excellent worldwide reputation to sell imported salmon without stating where it is from. Trusting consumers have been hoodwinked into thinking they are getting the best quality salmon. when they are not."

Mike Lloyd continues, "Don't be fooled by statements such as Product of the UK on prepacked salmon. These are permitted under the labelling loopholes - and only specify where the salmon has been prepared. The only way to ensure that you are buying truly Scottish salmon that has been produced to the highest standards of quality is to look for the Tartan Quality Mark.

In separate MORI research, 85% of consumers have made it plain that they prefer to have information available on a stand to save them having to ask shop assistants and 44% have more trust in the information on the stand than that given by shop assistants (*1) so, in our view, it is clear that labelling is a vital source of information for shoppers and one which the supermarkets are exploiting for their own ends."

Scottish Quality Salmon represents salmon farmers and those involved in the production of Tartan Quality Mark salmon. Only companies actively committed to the highest possible production standards are permitted to join.

*1 Source was MORI poll carried out for Kessler International, August 1999

Technical details

The MORI poll was conducted with 1,949 adults aged 15 and over, including 424 adults who have bought salmon in the past 6 months interviewed face-to-face, in home between 25 - 30 November 1999.