08 November 2006 | Helen Gilbert

Eighty per cent of local authorities in Scotland are complying with procurement guidelines to buy fresh, seasonal and quality-assured red meat, according to research

But the NHS, Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Parliament are not meeting the guidelines because they are committed to long-term contracts.

The survey results, published by the red meat industry body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), showed 27 of the 32 local authorities interviewed had changed their red meat contracts.

Three more were ready to make changes following completion of long-term contracts. Edinburgh and Fife were the only councils not to offer information on their red meat purchasing policies.

QMS said it had helped a number of public-sector organisations make changes by holding events that brought buyers and local suppliers together. It has also educated organisations on the cost-effectiveness of sourcing premium products.

"Some organisations are concerned it's going to cost them more to buy premium products," a QMS spokesperson told supplymanagement.com. "We show them ways they can buy a premium product from Scotland, but can use different parts of the carcass instead."

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