CONSUMERS are being encouraged to add lamb to their weekly shopping lists by Fife sheep farmer George Milne, who was out at the weekend promoting tips and recipes on how it can be used as an alternative meat in a variety of meals.

Mr Milne, of Kinaldy Farm, near St Andrews – who is also development officer of the National Sheep Association in Scotland – went to Aldi's Cupar store to give customers samples of lamb as part of a Scotland-wide Quality Meat Scotland marketing campaign to promote Scotch Lamb PGI as a versatile ingredient.

Retailers are also showing support for the campaign, by hosting over 100 sampling events across the country.

Mr Milne said the sampling events were a valuable opportunity for farmers to engage with consumers about how versatile and delicious Scotch Lamb is: "We are extremely proud of the Scotch Lamb PGI we produce, which is reared in Scotland, to very high standards, and by giving them a taste of this fantastic meat we hope to encourage them to buy lamb more regularly.”

QMS marketing controller Suzie Carlaw said: “Our campaign encourages shoppers to make the most of a meat which is bursting with flavour and such a great ingredient for a whole range of tasty dishes that can be cooked in under 30 minutes.

“This year’s campaign is a fantastic opportunity to really inspire Scots about this national treasure of a natural ingredient which our farmers are very proud to produce."

Buying Director for Aldi in Scotland, Alan Leslie, added: “At Aldi, we source the best Scottish meat to make sure our customers can buy quality, locally sourced products year round. Scotch Lamb is tender, tasty and easy to cook and we’re delighted to support this campaign to help bring this delicious product to the forefront of shoppers’ minds."