Image description: A Red Tractor ploughing a field. Image by Tom Fisk / Pexels.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled Red Tractor exaggerated its environmental standards in a recent advert, agreeing with campaign group River Action that the food safety body’s 2023 advert effectively misled the public.

The advertised claim

The Red Tractor Scheme is a symbol recognised by customers as an assurance that their food meets high standards for welfare, environment, traceability and safety.  The scheme is used by leading supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons and about 45,000 of the UK’s farms are members of the scheme.

In a 2023 advertising campaign, the advert promised that food carrying the logo had been “farmed with care”.

The complaint & ruling

River Action, which campaigns for clean water, said it made the complaint because it was concerned environmental standards relating to pollution were not being met on Red Tractor farms, including the claim “When the Red Tractor’s there, your food’s farmed with care … from field to store all our standards are met.”

The ASA upheld the complaint that the scheme’s environmental standards were exaggerated in the advert and ruled that the ad must not be shown again in its current form. In particular, the ASA considered evidence from an Environment Agency report into Red Tractor farms, which found that 62% of the most critical pollution incidents occurred on Red Tractor farms between 2014 and 2019, breaching environmental regulations.

River actions demands

The ASA ruled that going forward Red Tractor should make clear exactly what standards it is referring to when it uses the phrases “farmed with care” and “all our standards are met”.

Charles Watson, chair and founder of River Action, said large food retailers such as Tesco and Asda should lay out credible plans as to how they would move away from what he termed a “busted flush” of a certification scheme and instead support farmers whose working practices were genuinely sustainable. Indeed, Watson claims “This ASA ruling confirms what we’ve long argued: Red Tractor’s claims aren’t just misleading – they provide cover for farms breaking the law.”

Red Tractor response

Red Tractor responded its standards did not cover all environmental legislation. Therefore, data on compliance with environmental regulation should not be confused with farms’ compliance with Red Tractor’s requirements.

Jim Moseley, CEO of Red Tractor, said: “We believe the ASA’s final decision is fundamentally flawed and misinterprets the content of our advert.

“If the advert was clearly misleading, it wouldn’t have taken so long to reach this conclusion. Accordingly, the ASA’s actions are minimal. They’ve confirmed that we can continue to use ‘farmed with care’ but simply need to provide more information on the specific standards being referred to.

“The advert … made no environmental claim, and we completely disagree with the assumption that it would have been misinterpreted by consumers.”