Eat veal says the RSPCA

The RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) are joining forces to launch a campaign to get veal back on the British dinner menu. After years or campaigning agianst veal many are thinking why the sudden turn arround.

"Veal shouldn't be a dirty word," said Rowen West-Henzell, food business manager for CIWF. "There is a process of re-education that needs to occur. British rose veal is something we are happy to endorse."

High-welfare veal is known as rose veal, as calves are not fed the restricted, low-iron diet that is needed to produce the traditional white veal meat.

Veal is widely eaten in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy, but currently has a limited market in the UK.

"Over the next year we will be promoting the consumption of rose veal as a way of dealing with the problem of wasted bull calves," said Ms West- Henzell.

Last year around 260,000 young, male dairy calves were condemned as "waste products" in the UK, as they don't produce milk and are rarely used for beef due to their low muscle tone. These animals are either shot at birth or exported to the Continent.

British veal was recently brought to the public attention on the Channel 4 show The F Word, in which the journalist Janet Street-Porter raised veal calves as part of her attempt to encourage people to eat more British veal.

Reducing food wastage

It has been in the press a lot recently that Britons throw away over £8 billion worth of food each year.

Using leftovers is a great way to reduce food wastage and respect the lives of the animals that have been killed for our benefit. And it’s also a good way to save money on the food budget. Consider using leftovers more, but this doesn't mean you have to sacrifice taste or variety, meats may even taste better the next day.

These tips will help you find ways to use leftover meat, reduce your food budget and expand your menu.

Make multi-meat meals for more flavour and variety, adding yesterday’s leftover sausages or turkey to a meat loaf will make for a tasty and nutritious meal. You can add just about any meat to a cheesy or creamy casserole made from potatoes or pasta and sauce.

Or how about using the remains of Sunday’s roast chicken to create a stir fry or curry as long as the chickens been kept in a fridge it should be fine. Just add a jar of your favourite sauce and some vegetables and your done.

It might take a bit of forward planning and require a bit of extra work but the results will far out way this.

Chefs attack government over school meals

Two celebrity chefs have attacked the government for abandoning promises to spend at least 50p on healthy ingredients for school meals, calling the decision "fatal".

Chefs have attacked the Government for abandoning its promise to spend at least 50p on healthy ingredients for every school meal.

The pledge was made in 2005 by Ruth Kelly, then the education secretary. However, as it was disclosed that many local authorities are not hitting the 50p target, Kevin Brennan, the schools minister, said yesterday that there is no minimum requirement on ingredients for school meals.

Antony Worrall Thompson, the television chef, said: "When the big campaign to get better school dinners was launched, the Government jumped on board to appease Jamie Oliver and now that it has died down they have just ditched it. It is a disgrace really."

It`s summer time.

It`s summertime again (although by looking at the weather you would never guess) and so the Brit's love affair with the barbecue begins again in earnest.



But beware, health experts warn that cooking food outdoors can drastically increase the risk of food poisoning. That's because it is harder to keep foods very hot or very cold and to keep everything clean.

So, here are six simple rules to follow to stay safe this barbecue season:

• Light the barbecue well in advance and wait until it is glowing red (with a powdery grey surface) before starting to cook.

• Keep meats, salads and other perishable foods in a cool bag with ice packs or in the fridge until just before cooking or eating them. Serve salads at the last minute

• During cooking, turn food often. If it starts to burn on the outside raise the grill height or reduce the heat of the charcoal (dampen coals slightly or partially close air vents)

• Cook poultry, burgers, sausages and pork throughout - no pink bits in the middle. If possible, fully pre-cook all poultry and sausages in the oven or microwave then take it straight to the barbecue to add the final barbecue flavour.

• Keep raw and cooked foods apart at all times. Don't handle cooked foods with utensils that have touched raw meats or put cooked or ready-to-eat food on plates that have held raw meats.

Finally, if you are looking for quality barbecue meats, then look no further than Burts Family Butchers for the finest sausages, burgers, chciken and steaks!