British Quality Wild Venison: creating a robust market for wild venison

I think most people reading this blog can attest to the amazing meat that is wild venison. It’s sustainably produced, it’s lean and healthy, it’s an incredibly versatile meat and tastes great. Let’s explore the new certification scheme, British Quality Wild Venison Standard.

As we discussed in our previous blog, ‘Navigating challenges and opportunities in the wild venison supply chain’ it’s never been straightforward, and the market has seen peaks and troughs. With growing deer populations, the numbers required to be culled are increasing, so developing a more robust venison supply chain into existing and new markets is vital. This news article outlines how the deer population has been at its highest for 1,000 years and its impact on our woodlands and environment.

This is why various stakeholders across the industry came together into a Wild Venison Working Group (WVWG) to work out a plan on how to achieve this. Over three years, they developed the British Quality Wild Venison (BQWV) Standard, a mark of quality assurance. But what exactly is BQWV, why does it exist, and how can you achieve certification?

What is the British Quality Wild Venison Standard?

BQWV isn’t about paper pushing; it’s about enhancing current practices and making sure that standards are consistently upheld. In essence, it’s a commitment to sustainability, quality, and transparency. It’s an independently managed certification scheme that demonstrates that identified standards are being upheld. It is a quality mark that can be trusted by consumers throughout the marketplace.

Why have a BQWV certification scheme?

We currently operate in a market where demand for venison fluctuates and so the WVWG identified the need to develop a more robust venison supply chain that opens new, consistent, and reliable markets.

Large-scale buyers demand food products that have robust checks in place, are transparent and traceable back to their source. Buyers want confidence in the quality and ethical sourcing of venison and that food safety standards chill chains and animal welfare standards have been met.. Through the required independent annual auditing of what many already do, BQWV Standard offers a robust, traceable, and transparent system to support deer management whilst meeting modern food safety and sustainability standards.

It has been developed to enhance and increase trust in the handling, processing and distribution of British wild venison across the whole supply chain. It will benefit the sector as a whole – landowners, stalkers, game dealers, forestry and woodland management, biodiversity, woodland creation, and food sales to consumers through existing and new market channels.

Benefits of BQWV Standard

Joining the BQWV scheme offers many benefits:

• Boosts the visibility and support for British wild venison.
• Open doors to premium markets through improved consumer confidence.
• For producers, it provides access to a network of support, guidance, and resources to navigate the intricacies of venison production.
• For processors and retailers, it signifies a commitment to offering customers the highest quality, ethically sourced venison.
• For consumers, it guarantees a quality product that they can trust.

Furthermore, provenance is becoming increasingly important to consumers, and they want to buy British and local. This scheme provides that provenance assurance from a managed, harvested, and processed perspective.

How to join BQWV

Producers and processors seeking membership can apply through Intertek SAI Global, the certification body for BQWV and other schemes.

There are individual memberships as well as group schemes tailored for small-scale producers.

Group schemes, designed for those producing fewer than 300 carcasses a year, offer cost-saving benefits and facilitate collaborative efforts among producers sharing resources like deer larders and chillers.

It is worth noting that all applications will be automatically subsidised which reduces the cost of a BQWV application up to April 2025.

Ongoing operation and future prospects

Whilst BQWV certification is voluntary, its operation and success are a collaborative effort involving various stakeholders, including producers, processors and other industry bodies.

Annual audits ensure compliance with the standards, guaranteeing transparency and food safety throughout the supply chain. As BQWV continues to gain recognition and support from the food service sector and consumers alike, its future looks promising, with the potential for expanding market reach and fostering greater appreciation for British wild venison.

For more information on British Quality Wild Venison and how to apply, visit www.britishqualitywildvenison.co.uk.