Recent media and consumer interest in the quality of food purchased in supermarkets and other outlets, is placing pressure on the agricultural industry to improve the quality of the product produced. The farmer has in the past been encouraged to produce quantity irrespective of quality, whereas today the emphasis is very much on the latter, with pressure to reduce quantity. Companies supplying the farming community must react to this changed situation, particularly if they are to be able to administer due diligence under the Food Safety Act.

Dalgety Agriculture has thus embarked upon a quality initiative throughout the company involving training of staff on total quality management, registration of premises with the British Standards Institute under BS 5750 scheme and the adoption of the hazard analysis using critical control points (HACCP) technique to evaluate the areas of the company's operations where faults could most easily occur. The company has concluded that an approach to quality must be all-embracing involving all facets of our operations. The aim is to aid the company's farming customers in the attainment of a quality product for the customer of that farm.