RBL criticised for poppy logo on Romanian-produced meat

Allan Mercado, (pictured), discovered that the Royal British Legion has been allowing its poppy symbol to be used on labels of canned meat produced in Romania.
Shortly after he protested to both organisations, the Royal British Legion said that it no longer had an agreement with Red Lion Foods, the company which produced the canned meat, although Waitrose has continued to stock it on their shelves.
Mr Mercado said: “I’m incensed. As a life-long member of the Royal British Legion, it troubles me that the RBL has let its members down by selling the right to use the most highly-respected symbol, the poppy, to be used to promote products linked to Romania.
“Such action degrades the treasured logo and insults the purpose for which the poppy symbol was devised.

“Cans of processed meat bearing the poppy logo line the shelves at my local Waitrose store many days after the horse meat scandal hit the headlines, and these cans plainly state that the contents were produced in Romania.
“What guarantee or surety did the Royal British Legion obtain that the meat in these Red Lion Food cans was not contaminated?”
A spokesperson at Royal British Legion headquarters said: “Our agreement with Red Lion Foods ended earlier this year.
“Red Lion Foods had supported the Royal British Legion as part of their commitment to Armed Forces’ charities and activities.
“As part of this agreement Red Lion Foods were contractually obliged to ensure that the quality of their products met the required statutory demands.”
The spokesperson refused to comment on Mr Mercado’s criticism.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “You’ll need to direct your questions to Red Lion Foods.”
Red Lion Foods had been carrying the RBL’s distinctive poppy logo on its full range of meat cans for a number of years, and provided substantial donations to the charity to help members of the country’s Armed Forces.
Chicken tikka masala, beef madras, and extra meaty bolognese all still carry the poppy logo on the Red Lion Foods label, which also states ‘Produced in Romania, with EU beef, under licence from Red Lion Foods for DCD Co. Ltd, Manchester’.
Andrew Gidden, the managing-director and founder of Red Lion Foods, which is based in Reading, said: “We have several firms re-testing the products, and we expect the results in about 14 days.”
He added that his company’s products were produced and distributed by fully-audited and approved suppliers.
In a website statement, Red Lion Foods commented: “There is full traceability through the supply chain but, given the recent findings, we have instructed our partners to review these procedures to confirm that they are robust, and that the raw materials used in our products are fully compliant with the appropriate product specification.
“We have no association with any of the meat processors or meat suppliers implicated in the adulteration reports.”
Labels that bear the poppy motif also state: “100 per cent of our post-tax profits are used to help UK Forces’ charities and causes.”
Concern about Romanian horse meat ending up on UK dinner plates follows claims that more than 10,000 horses have been exported to countries where horsemeat is an accepted alternative to beef, lamb or pork.Horsemeat shipped from Romania via a processing plant in south-west France has been found in frozen meals in the UK.
Two years ago the European Union banned the export of horsemeat from Romania to try to prevent the spread of equine infectious anaemia, a disease commonly known as Swamp Fever, which had become endemic through the country, prompting farmers to export slaughtered horse meat.
The concern is that the sale of carcasses makes it possible that their meat is sold for processing into ready meals rather than sold as freshly butchered cuts and therefore available to be used in place of beef in the production of convenience foods.