On Thu, 30 Oct 2014 08:54:31 +0100, Michael Uplawski wrote:

Forest Mushrooms from Leclerc... Lidl or Carrefour give me the shivers.

Well, most "forest mushrooms" you see in the above will be from Eastern
Europe.

But don't confuse Leclerc with Lidl or Carrefour Market: the former
actually does use local producers (as does Intermarche), I can think of 3
people offhand that supply both supermarkets. Note that they only supply
local branches, mostly because the supermarkets demand quantities which
are difficult for small producers to keep up with: IIRC Leclerc in
Argentan wouldn't do business with a certain poultry producer until he
could produce around 300 birds/month. Which is quite a lot. And very
good birds they are. Of course they also finish by undercutting price on
what the man himself sells them for.

If a supermarket can't tell you exactly where it comes from locally, IMO
you shouldn't buy it, especially around here where there are a plethora
of local producers to choose from.

Sorry, veering OT! But I do think traceability is much worse in the UK
than in France, and that "buying local" is very important for both
economical and ecological reasons.

--
Gardening in Lower Normandy