Food industry expert hits back at proposed scrapping of foie gras import ban

“Retailers should be tackling the issue of foie gras head on by actively championing more humane methods” says food industry expert

As the Government looks to scrap a proposed import ban on foie gras, one food industry expert has hit back, arguing that with ethically produced alternatives already on the market, we should be turning our focus to tackling the cruel methods of production head on.

“As we have seen with recently published videos from France showing the mistreatment of ducks being bred for the foie gras industry, there is no shadow of a doubt that the outdated and frankly, cruel methods that are used to make foie gras should be banned everywhere, as they have been already in the UK,”  says Hannah Anderson, Managing Director of ethicial online food retailer 44 Foods. 

“As a retailer, we very much support a complete import ban of traditional force-fed foie gras into the UK and would implore the Government not to scrap their proposed plans.

Commenting on emails shared last year from the Government asking chefs to develop so called ‘faux gras’ using plant-based ingredients, Hannah says, “Finding plant based alternatives does offer a more ethical option and we have already seen positive steps by the government calling on chefs to create ethical alternatives, but as well as filling a gap in the market, we as retailers and producers should be tackling the issue head on by not allowing the use of force-feeding to continue at all and actively championing more humane methods. 

“There are ethical and more humane ways to produce foie gras, as a bi-product of the meat industry, by which the animals are cared for to the very highest welfare standards instead of suffering through a process that ultimately results in just one small part of them being used. 

“Producers have proven this, by developing methods to produce foie gras that in quality is comparable to traditional foie gras, but without the welfare implications and with less waste.” 

44 Foods is one of only a handful of retailers in the UK offering ethical foie gras from Foie Royale, which is produced from free-range ducks and geese. Unlike more traditional methods where birds are often caged, their ducks and geese are free to roam outside and only kept in at night for their own safety.

Raised using ethical farming methods, the birds are not subjected to wing or beak clipping and are fed naturally, allowing them and crucially, their livers to grow naturally to a healthy size. They’re then able to create the coveted texture of traditional foie gras, by combining the livers with fat collected separately during processing for the meat industry.  

For more information on 44 Foods visit www.44foods.com