Jamie slams Sainsbury's for 'no-show'

Campaigning chef Jamie Oliver has slammed his employers Sainsbury's for failing to turn up to a debate on factory farming.

The star spoke out despite being paid £1.2 million a year to front the supermarket giant's advertising campaigns.

Jamie invited Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons to speak at a debate on farming methods as part of his new documentary Jamie's Fowl Dinners.

The chef discovered supermarkets pay farmers as little as 3p for a chicken while making the programme.

But he was reportedly "really upset" that all the chains refused to appear, including Sainsbury's.

He said: "The question is, why didn't they come? What is there to hide?"

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury's defended the supermarket's actions, pointing out that a senior manager was interviewed by Oliver in the programme.

She said: "We feel very strongly that we have made a significant contribution to the making of this programme, and we demonstrated this by Sainsbury's head of brand giving Jamie a full interview and meeting Jamie in Devon.

"It is not true to suggest that we didn't participate in the making of the programme."

In 2004, the company was the first to adopt the RSPCA Freedom Food standard.

A spokesman for Morrisons said it takes animal welfare "very seriously".

"We offer our customers a choice of British poultry products representing quality and value, sourced from reputable suppliers producing to recognised standards, including the largest and best value range of RSPCA Freedom Food poultry of any major retailer, as well as organic and free range options," he said.

"We take animal welfare extremely seriously and are currently working with suppliers to further extend our range of Freedom Food poultry products."

A Tesco spokesman said: "We take animal welfare extremely seriously and are the only major supermarket to carry out independent farm inspections over and above the assured chicken standard farm audits.

"We have offered and promoted free range and organic alternatives for years to enable customers to make an informed choice.

"We have also recently introduced Willow Farm chicken, which is a more affordable welfare friendly option.

"We always listen to our customers and many of them tell us they are on a tight budget and rely on us to provide affordable good quality food."

The documentary on factory farming follows Oliver's campaigns over battery eggs and school dinners.

Asda was not immediately available for comment.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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