The first week's results are in from National Pig Association's Christmas GammonWatch surveys from Redruth in Cornwall to Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway.
The NPA's first naming-and-shaming puts Tesco in the spotlight as least supportive retailer when it comes to sticking to post-Horsegate promises to source more British pork and pork products.
In a survey of nine Tesco stores only 14 percent of gammon shelf-facings were British, versus imported.
Tesco: No. of stores surveyed (9): % British versus imported shelf facings (14%)
Sainsbury's: (8): (17%)
Morrisons: (7): (19%)
Asda: (2): (27%)
Lidl: (3): (28%)
Co-op: (3): (100%)
Sainsbury's has also performed poorly — and NPA reports this more in "sorrow than anger, as it's more supportive in the rest of its pork offering".
The same applies to Morrisons, which the NPA describes as "very disappointing" on British gammon, but praiseworthy in other pork categories.
The NPA stresses that this is only week one of GammonWatch, with "plenty of time available for Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons to improve their British gammon offer as Christmas approaches."
This year's Christmas Gammonwatch campaign the NPA have taken it as a given that M&S and Waitrose are 100 percent on British gammon, but they state they "will be checking anyway, during December."
Since NPA GammonWatch was launched a week ago it has become clear from member surveys that the situation is far worse than was feared.
Some retailers are offering very little British gammon this Christmas, even though there is an abundance of high-welfare, traceable, quality-assured domestic product available, with some stores offering no British at all.
The NPA argues that if retailers want the convenience of a thriving British pig sector on their doorstep, producing reliable supplies 52 weeks of the year of a quality-assured, traceable, high-welfare product, then it's essential they make a special effort to support British pig farmers over the Christmas period.
A year ago the industry's Standard Pig Price stood at 151p a kilo and today it is down to below 127p, and still falling. Taking all costs into consideration, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board sees current break-even price for producers at around 139p.
