J. Knight, Master Butchers

All our Meat and Poultry has been produced to the highest standards and we have full traceability back to the herds and flocks.

Only The Best

J Knight has always advocated and practised the highest standards of quality and service amongst butchers to provide the discerning customer with the best meat and poultry products. The butcher is however the last step in the supply chain before it reaches the customer and so he is reliant on the rest of the supply chain back to and including the farmers who have reared the animals. J Knight have always sought out suppliers who can not only provide the quality meat but who can trace their meat back to farms. We are reliant on our suppliers embracing the same high standards and so not surprisingly our suppliers are members of the leading meat and Poultry quality assurance schemes.

Best Beef

Our beef is obtained from scottish herds, where some of the finest beef cattle are reared. This comes down to a combination of factors including "grass feeding" and skilled stockmanship. The Beef is then supplied to us by one of the wholesalers most proactive in meat quality management.

It is easy to make claims about quality but it is much harder to prove it. The challenge of proving the quality of our beef is carried by the The Scotch Quality Beef and Lamb Association.

The Scotch Quality Beef and Lamb Association

Over 8000 of Scotlands Livestock producers have subjected their farms to independant inspection to ensure that the cattle which are destined to provide Specially Selected Scotch Beef are reared to the highest standards of animal husbandry, health and welfare. The scheme adresses all aspects of stockmanship but it also particular issues of concern to the public such as:

• Traceability of meat back to the herd.
• Feeding of the best quality "natural" feeds.
• Animal health is paramount and ensured by rigid regulations.

These rigorous standards are maintained as cattle are transported to the Auction Markets, to the processing plant, and on to wholesalers and butchers.

At each stage from farm to plate the animals and meat may be subject to independent inspection.

The tradition of Scottish quality coupled to the pioneering assurance scheme for Scotland's farmers, hauliers, auctioneers, meat processors and retail outlets give Specially Selected Scotch Beef a reputation as a superior product.

Best Lamb

The Lamb supplied to us is produced on a farm in Kent that participates in the NSPCA Freedom Foods scheme. This scheme is designed to ensure that animals reared on the member farms are subject to the best standards of animal welfare. This is achieved through an initail audit of the farm as a precursor to achieving membership and is followed by random spot checks.

But animal welfare on the farm is not the whole story. Good animal welfare produces high quality meat. Additionally the Freedom Foods scheme provides the consumer:

• Traceability back to the orginating herd.
• Confidence that animals have been treated humanely throughout their lives, and that by buying this meat they are voting with their feet for higher standards of animal husbandry.

The NSPCA describes the five essential freedoms as:

• Freedom from fear and distress
• Freedom from hunger and thirst
• Freedom from discomfort
• Freedom from pain injury and disease
• Freedom to express normal behaviour

Poultry

All our poultry is supplied farm fresh from Suffolk.Our supplier has been carefully chosen for his strong belief like ours in quality produce. They are a long established business (over three generations)and have won numerous awards over the years, culminating in winning the 2002 National Quality Chicken Award. The final selection process involved judging on taste, texture and carving - all of which they scored highly. The judges commented particularly on the 'mouthwatering' appearance of the chickens.