Pork

All Waitrose pork comes from British farmers, and we know every one of them personally.

What's special about Waitrose pork?

All Waitrose pork is reared by a select group of British farmers, who have worked with us for years and understand and share our values. Our farmers are located predominantly in East Anglia, where the light, free-draining soil and low rainfall provide ideal conditions for pig farming. The result is tender, fine-grained meat, with just the right amount of fat and plenty of flavour.

Waitrose is unique in producing all of its pork, sausage, bacon, easy-to-cook and cooked meat ranges from pigs from our dedicated farms, which means we can guarantee the same high quality and traceability in our pork pies as we do in our pork chops. It also enables us to use as much of the meat as possible, helping us to guarantee a satisfactory return to our farmers. This allows them to invest in sustainable farming methods to supply our pork in the future and encourage wildlife development on their land.

Essential Waitrose British pork

Essential Waitrose British pork can be found in all Waitrose stores and is sold in pre-pack on the aisle.

What's special about essential Waitrose pork?
Essential Waitrose pork comes from outdoor bred pigs reared by a dedicated group of farmers based predominantly in East Anglia. Working exclusively for Waitrose, our pig farmers operate within producer groups to produce the most tender, succulent pork under the highest standards of welfare and animal husbandry.

The pigs are bred from boar and sow lines selected exclusively for Waitrose for their vigour, excellent eating quality and suitability for outdoor breeding. All Waitrose breeding sows are free range and live their entire life outdoors, with access to straw-filled arcs and tents on free-draining sandy soil. The piglets are born outdoors and at farrowing, each sow is given her own individual hut for raising her litter until weaning at four weeks of age. The growing pigs are then transferred indoors to bright, airy straw bedded sheds, with natural lighting and fed a natural, cereal-based diet.

Traceability and Accreditation
All Waitrose farms are registered with either Assured British Pigs (ABP) or Genesis and Freedom Food (FF), the RSPCA Farm Accreditation Body. All Waitrose British pork can be traced back to the group of farms where the pigs were reared. The meat is processed as a batch from farm to shelf so that its quality can be monitored throughout.

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Waitrose free range British pork

We sell three different breeds of free-range pork products in our stores - Hampshire sired, Berkshire sired and Gloucestershire Old Spot sired.

What does free range mean to Waitrose?
All Waitrose free-range farms rear pigs exclusively for Waitrose and work within producer groups to ensure that they meet standards of animal welfare and animal husbandry.

Our free-range pigs spend their entire lives outdoors, with straw filled arcs and tents for shelter. At farrowing each sow is given her own individual hut to raise her litter until weaning at four weeks of age. The growing pigs are then raised outdoors in paddocks and have constant access to freely range across the land. Within each paddock an arc or shelter is provided, with deep-bedded straw to keep the pigs warm in winter. The hut also provides shade in the summer, which along with mud wallows, keeps the pigs cool.

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Waitrose Hampshire sired free range pork

Waitrose Hampshire sired free range pork is found in selected Waitrose stores in both pre-pack assortments and on the Service Meat Counter.

What is different about Waitrose Hampshire sired free range pork?
Waitrose Hampshire sired free range pork is reared on a limited number of specialist farms based in Norfolk, Suffolk and Wiltshire. The Hampshire breed boasts strong legs and its excellent colouring gives it protection against the sun. Hampshire meat is renowned for its succulence, tenderness and unique flavour.

Breeding sows have been specially bred for outdoor life in the UK. The Hampshire sireline used was selected for its breed traits, which include hardiness and vigour for growth in the outdoor environment and for its superb eating quality.

Traceability and Accreditation
All Waitrose Free Range farms are registered with either Assured British Pigs (ABP) or Genesis and Freedom Food (FF), the RSPCA Farm Accreditation Body. All Waitrose Hampshire free range British pork can be traced back to the group of farms where the pigs were reared. The meat is processed as a batch from farm to shelf so that its quality can be monitored throughout.

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Waitrose Berkshire sired free range pork

Waitrose Berkshire sired free range pork is found in selected Waitrose stores on the Service Meat Counter.

What is different about Waitrose Berkshire sired free range pork?
Waitrose Berkshire sired free range pork is reared on one dedicated farm in Suffolk. Breeding sows are specially bred for outdoor life in the UK. Pigs are sired by Berkshire boars, which are a traditional breed, renowned for their adaptability and robust nature in the outdoor environment and for the superb eating quality of the pork.

The Berkshire sired free range pork rack was shortlisted for the Grocer Own Label Excellence Awards 2008 and won the Quality Food & Drink Award for Fresh Meat, Game and Poultry.

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Waitrose Gloucestershire old spot sired free range pork

Waitrose Gloucestershire old spot sired free range bacon, sausages and cooked meats are found in selected Waitrose stores in pre-pack and on the Service Meat Counter.

What is different about Waitrose Gloucestershire old spot sired free range pork?
Waitrose Gloucestershire old spot sired free range pork is reared on one specialist farm in Wiltshire.

Breeding sows are specially bred for outdoor life in the UK. The Gloucestershire old spot sireline is a traditional breed renowned for its tender and succulent meat due to a high level of marbling throughout.

Also by promoting Gloucestershire old spot sired pork, Waitrose is supporting and therefore helping to progress and maintain this rare English breed of pig.

Traceability and Accreditation
All farms are registered with either Assured British Pigs (ABP) or Genesis and Freedom Foods (FF), the RSPCA Farm Accreditation Body. All Waitrose Gloucestershire old spot free range British pork can be traced back to the farm where the pigs were reared. The meat is processed as a batch from farm to shelf so that its quality can be monitored throughout.

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Duchy Originals from Waitrose organic pork

Duchy Originals from Waitrose organic free range British pork can be found in all Waitrose stores and is available in pre-pack assortments on the aisle.

What is different about Duchy Originals from Waitrose organic pork?
Our organic pork is reared on a small number of farms in East Anglia, where the pigs are fed an organic diet and allowed to roam freely on land farmed to organic standards. The farms are independently monitored by the relevant Organic Accreditation Bodies on a regular basis.

Our organic farms produce pork exclusively for Waitrose and work within a dedicated producer group to ensure all high common standards for breeding programmes and the supply of feed, in addition to our strict environmental and animal welfare standards are met and maintained.

What does organic mean for Waitrose?
All Duchy sows are kept outdoors, living in straw filled arcs and tents on free-draining sandy soil. At farrowing each sow is given her own individual hut for raising her litter until weaning at seven weeks of age, which is significantly older than conventional farming.

The growing pigs, having been born outdoors, are also raised outdoors in paddocks and have constant access to range freely across organic land. An arc or shelter is provided within each paddock, with deep straw bedding to provide a warm area during winter. The hut also provides shade in the summer, which along with mud wallows, helps to keep the pigs cool.

Duchy organic pigs are fed an organic cereal based diet, which is specially formulated to ensure they can thrive in their outdoor environment.

Traceability and Accreditation
All the farms must be registered with an organic accreditation body such as the Soil Association, Organic Farmers and Growers, or Organic Food Federation, in addition to either Assured British Pigs (ABP) or Genesis and Freedom Food (FF), the RSPCA Farm Accreditation Body. The organic meat is processed as a batch from farm to shelf, to ensure that quality is maintained throughout.

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How does Waitrose look after animal welfare?

All our pig farmers work to the either the Assured British Pig Scheme or the Genesis Assurance Scheme and the RSPCA Freedom Food Scheme, and are regularly independently audited to ensure that they meet the highest standards of welfare and animal husbandry. Pigs are only transported by hauliers approved by either Assured British Pigs or Genesis and Freedom Food, and journeys may not last longer than four hours (most are under 1.5 hours). On arrival, the pigs are inspected by an Independent Veterinary Surgeon and given fresh water.

Our commitment to animal welfare has been recognised by the RSPCA and Compassion In World Farming, both of which have given specific praise to our pig production systems. We continue to look at ways which can improve our animal welfare standards further.

Waitrose pork is used in all of our sausage, bacon, Easy to Cook and Cooked meat ranges where relevant.

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Try these pork recipes: