Lidl/Aldi meat- animal conditions better?

Cariad_3

having read the interesting posts on battery eggs and animal conditions I decided to ask this question.
Where possible I buy meat from a butcher, near work who buys from local farms and I am told they are treated well.
In between I tend to buy meat from Lidl & Aldi and my family comment that the taste is good and my purse is happy.
But although I now the meat is german I don't know anything else about it- can anyone else tell me?
Are the animals treated in good conditions?

weedav

Yes, after watching the "what's Really in Your Xmas Dinner" programme last week I was thinking the same.

I have bought Salmon and Pork from Aldi, and both were far superior to the Asda counterparts I used to buy. Especially the pork.

I can't offer any info I'm afraid, but I always go by the look of the meat. If it looks healthy then I usually trust the animal has been treated well. Looking at labels I think also helps - and should help distinguish between "wild salmon" and "farm reared salmon".

Hope somebody can offer more advice.

thriftlady_2

I was wondering about this,I'd like to give Lidl a go but I'm not sure about where the meat comes from or how it has been produced.

I like to support British producers and often the cheapest option means buying something imported.For instance Tesco value butter comes from New Zealand and whilst I've nothing against New Zealand its a lot of food miles and British dairy farmers get a very raw deal.

Also can anyone tell me what the ingredients information is like on the packets from Lidl.I have to check very carefully for my egg and nut allergic dd.Are they clear and in English?

Honestly shopping for food gets quite stressful!What's in it?where's it from?how was it produced?how much does it cost?

Sarahsaver

I have been told that Germany has stricter legislation on food quality, for example the cereals have less added salt and sugar, I had a lidl turkey and a duck, and they were both very good. If you watched the xmas 'f-word' you can always do the leg bone test that Mr. Ramsay showed - a bird which has been cooped up and forced to grow too quick will have brittle hollow bones.
Thriftlady the labels are in many languages including english, but I would say your best bet is making things from scratch then you know whats in it. AFAIK i have never had a creeal product from lidl with nuts in it. Their raw materials are excallent value - fruit veg meat cheese, pasta etc. well it all is, but i think a lot of cakes and biccies have nuts and egg in, but we tend not to have those anyhow;)

in_my_wellies

I've been shopping for meat at Lidl and it is very good, and the F&V too. Family don't know yet! I'm going to ask about production.

BoltonMinx

I think Aldi's chickens are free range, will have to take a peek in the freezer later to say for sure

superscotsman

We've not had any problems wth Lidl, Aldi or Netto. The ingredients listing have to conform to British regulations, and often follow German or Danish regulations as well, which are often more stringent. The producers for these supermarkets are often British. And if lebkuchen and Stollen are good enough for the Germans for Xmas, they're good enough for us - well, better in my opinion than the family-chocolate-based rubbish we've been shoving down our necks all these decades in Rip-off Britain. We've just had the Lidl Goose for Xmas. Sie war wunderbar!

thriftlady_2

Thanks for that Sarahsaver,I certainly do make everything from scratch;cakes, biscuits,bread etc but things like chocolate I cannot yet make! also Tesco's have just started putting nut warnings on things like ham and salami-curse them.Also raw materials like dried beans and lentils,grains like couscous and rolled oats(a staple in my house).

I'm certainly going to give Lidl a try though.

Pal

I haven't looked into it, but I doubt very much that any supermarkets, including lidl/aldi, would be selling free range or organic meat without advertising the fact and charging more for it. As a result all of the meat in those supermarkets is almost certainly intensively reared in a similar way to the turkeys shown on the "xmas" dinner programme.

After all, if you were a farmer or a supermarket, surely you would sell the meat with "free range" plastered all over it so that you could charge a bit more for it? They aren't in business for fun, after all.

thriftlady_2

Yes,I think you're right Pal,if its free-range it'll say so on the label.I think I'll stick with my trusted butcher who can tell me everything I want to know about his meat.

Rave

Lidl quite clearly sell battery and free range eggs seperately. Incidentally, my wife bought some extra large eggs from the market on Christmas Eve, they reckoned to be 'farm eggs' and had the address of a company in Dorset on them. The codes on them started 3-DE - I.E. battery eggs from Germany! I gently told her off, although they tasted alright and despite being massive were the same price as Lidl's medium free range eggs.

It seems that a lot of their beef comes from Ireland (at least it does in my local).