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Fray Bentos Corned Beef
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Why are all those distinctive circular stamps missing from the Fray bentos corned beef tins nowadays. Seem to be made in Scotland now too.
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//The brand is now owned in the UK by Baxters, which manufactures the product range in Scotland.//
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The Fray Bentos factory in the town of Fray Bentos, Uruguay closed in 1979. Corned beef production was contracted out to other processors in Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina when the factory closed. All the cans of corned beef that were exported from these South American factories, had the distinctive circular stamp on the base of the can that showed the country of origin along with a codes that could be traced to the processor. Production date codes were also stamped on the can.
The Fray Bentos name is now owned by Baxters, the soup makers of Fochabers in Scotland. Fray Bentos corned beef is now made and canned for Baxters at the gigantic Toupnot meat canning facility in Lourdes, Southern France. Toupnot also make and can corned beef for Asda and a few other retailers. The beef used in the manufacture of the corned beef at Toupnot is usually of French origin although they do process beef from other European countries. Brazilian and Uruguayan processed and canned corned beef can still be bought at various retailers including Aldi and all of the cans bear the distinctive circular stamp on the base as per the requirements of the respective governments.
Incidentally, you can buy British corned beef prepacked in plastic and on the deli counter in some of the bigger supermarkets. Although has the same rectangular shape as the sliced stuff from the 2.72kg bulk tins, it’s made slightly differently.
The Fray Bentos name is now owned by Baxters, the soup makers of Fochabers in Scotland. Fray Bentos corned beef is now made and canned for Baxters at the gigantic Toupnot meat canning facility in Lourdes, Southern France. Toupnot also make and can corned beef for Asda and a few other retailers. The beef used in the manufacture of the corned beef at Toupnot is usually of French origin although they do process beef from other European countries. Brazilian and Uruguayan processed and canned corned beef can still be bought at various retailers including Aldi and all of the cans bear the distinctive circular stamp on the base as per the requirements of the respective governments.
Incidentally, you can buy British corned beef prepacked in plastic and on the deli counter in some of the bigger supermarkets. Although has the same rectangular shape as the sliced stuff from the 2.72kg bulk tins, it’s made slightly differently.
Mamyalynne, with all due respect, I'm afraid the quote you've provided off wikipedia is misleading. Baxters do not manufacture corned beef in Scotland. They simply dont have the facilities. Toupnot manufacture it for them and the company is one of the biggest canneries in Europe processing corned beef, hot dogs, luncheon meat and most processed meat. Other Fray Bentos stuff is also contracted out.
Looks the contributor to that wikipedia article has been economical with the truth.
Looks the contributor to that wikipedia article has been economical with the truth.
Oh dear Tuvok. I clearly need to explain further, To begin with, I'm not clear what you mean by "made in Fochabers". Are you talking about the processing of the beef, the beef conversion to corned beef or the canning of the finished product?
None of this really matters the context of your reply. Fray Bentos corned beef tins bear an EC Identification and Health Mark, which is a series of letters and digits in an oval shaped box. The applicable code here is: FR 65 286 002 CE. The FR means that the product is manufactured and canned in France. The 65 is the French Region code, the 286 is the Commune and the 002 is the processing plant code. The processing plant is ETS Paul Toupnot of Rue Mirabel, Lourdes.
The use of these codes is a legal requirement by the EC and the manufacturer and/or canner have to provide a traceable source of origin of the product. A can of corned beef "made" in Fochabers cannot under any circumstances bear a code that would indicate the product is produced at any stage in France. There are different codes applicable to UK meat products and if the corned beef was truly made in Fochabers, it would not bear a French Code. In fact, EC food regulations allow the closure of any facilities that assert their products are made elsewhere.
None of this really matters the context of your reply. Fray Bentos corned beef tins bear an EC Identification and Health Mark, which is a series of letters and digits in an oval shaped box. The applicable code here is: FR 65 286 002 CE. The FR means that the product is manufactured and canned in France. The 65 is the French Region code, the 286 is the Commune and the 002 is the processing plant code. The processing plant is ETS Paul Toupnot of Rue Mirabel, Lourdes.
The use of these codes is a legal requirement by the EC and the manufacturer and/or canner have to provide a traceable source of origin of the product. A can of corned beef "made" in Fochabers cannot under any circumstances bear a code that would indicate the product is produced at any stage in France. There are different codes applicable to UK meat products and if the corned beef was truly made in Fochabers, it would not bear a French Code. In fact, EC food regulations allow the closure of any facilities that assert their products are made elsewhere.
The code on the can can be found on many supermarket own brand corned beef cans. Toupnot are specialists in the canning of processed meat and regretfully, the UK has never invested a great deal in doing it. Toupnot have the monopoly for this type of manufacturing. I like your friend, have connections with the company and I can assure you, Fray Bentos corned beef comes from France and not from Scotland. Baxters appear to be perfectly well aware of the legal implications.
wolf63, I love corned beef. Many years ago, I had an all expenses paid trip out to the Fray Bentos factory just outside the port of Fray Bentos. They were having some difficulty in isolating a particular bacterium that was somehow entering the finished products and paid us handsomely for our expertise. We had to bring the cultured samples to the UK for precise microbiological and biochemical analysis and had no end of fun at Customs in the UK.
Just been rummaging around in the food cupboard to check MrsProf has been buying corned beef. Most of them seem to be the Princess brand, but I have found a Fray Bentos can that says: "Produced and packed in France for Fray Bentos".
In the event that the customer had any comments or required further information, they are asked to contact Fray Bentos Foods, Fochabers, Scotland IV32 7LD. That's Baxters and it's perfectly legal for Baxters to market the product under the Fray Bentos brand.
In the event that the customer had any comments or required further information, they are asked to contact Fray Bentos Foods, Fochabers, Scotland IV32 7LD. That's Baxters and it's perfectly legal for Baxters to market the product under the Fray Bentos brand.
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