Northern Beaches based business, The Free Range Butcher, announced today that they have won medals again this year in the Deli Meat category at the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Fine Food Awards. Specifically, the business was awarded a silver medal for its Free Range Pasture Fed Ham and a bronze medal for its Free Range Pasture Fed Bacon. Owner and Director, Ben Clinch, says he and his team are thrilled about their awards: “These medals are a great follow up to our 2014 Medals, and it’s very satisfying to know the products produced from our small team can be amongst the best in the business.”

The timing of these awards is all the more relevant, with the ACCC recently uncovering that much of the ham that is available in mainstream supermarkets and delicatessens is not even grown in Australia. It is imported from countries such as Asia, Denmark and Canada. Some Australian companies have also recently been reprimanded by the ACCC for using misleading terms such as ‘bred free range’ in an effort to make their products more appealing to customers.

Conversely, all pork sold by The Free Range Butcher is produced in Australia and is a genuine Free Range product. Ben Clinch explains more: “On our family farm at Barraba in North West NSW, we grow pigs in open paddocks which takes a lot longer than an intensive farm in another country. Our pigs are grown with respect, using sustainable practices. They are always outside, feeding on pasture, never caged. Our methods are traceable and transparent.”

The care and transparency of process continues all the way through the production cycle with a skilled team of butchers’ hand mixing the cure from an in-house recipe, then curing, smoking and cooking the ham. This process can take up to two weeks, not days like the mass factories. “At The Free Range Butcher, we employ real people, not machines,” says Ben.

Ben goes on to say: “We choose this way of business because it is much kinder for the animals, the people we employ, and more sustainable long term.”

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About The Free Range Butcher

The Free Range Butcher specialises in Grass Fed, 28 day Dry Aged Beef and Lamb, Pasture Fed Free Range Pork, and Free Range Poultry. Supplied from our own farm and other farmers we know, all our meat is hormone and antibiotic free. Our farm is located 90km north of Tamworth in the North West of New South Wales. Surrounding the district and our family farm are the Nandewar mountain ranges. It is perfect country for raising free range produce, with an average rainfall over 1000mm, and no large scale cropping programs in our area. With two generations of farming knowledge behind us, we began formally selling our products in 2008. Our mission then, as it is now, was to produce products which were Ethical, Sustainable and Traceable. As of 2015, we offer a weekly home delivery service and operate at over 20 farmers markets every month.

Further enquiries, please contact:

Alison Clinch

Marketing Director

Phone: 0414 252 972 | Email: alison@freerangebutcher.com.au

Notes to editors

The 2015 Silver Medal Award products were:

• Rolled Ham
• Short cut Bacon
• The 2015 Bronze Medal Award products were:
• Easy Carve Ham
• Rindless Bacon