Fears that the proposed supermarket ombudsman will be a “toothless animal” mounted at Fruit Focus last week.
NFU regional chair for the West Midlands Anthony Snell told delegates at the Fruit Forum debate at the Kent event: “The Groceries Supply Code of Practice is a toothless animal. It is too weak and too toothless, but we are not going to give up. We need to keep explaining what we do - get the public on side and the government will listen.”
NFU president Peter Kendall supported these views and went further by suggesting substantial fines should be implemented to supermarkets that step out of line. “We need a fair set of rules and someone to make sure they are applied,” he said. “There needs to be proper fines. Just telling Tesco, you’ve been a naughty boy, isn’t good enough.”
The debate came a day after the deadline to submit comments on the draft adjudicator bill.
No comments yet