ALDI has responded to a tweet which claimed it had gone “full tonto” with Union Jacks on the packaging of products.
Twitter user @dmallin posted an image of several steaks on sale in an Aldi store, all of which had a Union flag on them.
He said: “Just been to Aldi and they’ve gone full tonto with the UJ. Even the clearly Scottish stuff is now branded with a UJ.”
Just been to Aldi and they've gone full tonto with the UJ. Even the clearly Scottish stuff is now branded with a UJ.the Union Unit have clearly nobbled Aldi, very disappointed and I won't be back. @AldiUK told me they weren't removing the saltire. LIARS. pic.twitter.com/APjfrGvg8c
— Dav (@dmallin) July 15, 2023
The user added that they were “disappointed” and wouldn’t return.
However, when The National reached out to Aldi to see if the supermarket had any response to the Tweet, it was explained that this particular batch of steaks was sourced from British farms and so packs therefore displayed the Union flag.
It added that this was temporary as the company is transitioning to a new supplier for its Scotch beef, as its previous supplier was unable to meet requirements.
The National was told that all Scottish stores will sell only Scotch beef from the beginning of August and that the firm is fully committed to doing so.
We have previously told of anger at Union Jacks being displayed on Scottish products. In November of last year, Morrisons were accused of selling carrots in a “confusing” manner as they labelled a product from England with a Scottish flag.
At the time, a spokesperson said that it was an “isolated issue” that was under investigation.
In January, we commissioned a poll which showed that Scots overwhelmingly prefer seeing a Saltire on Scottish produce over a Union Jack.
Data showed that 71% of Scots said they preferred to see the St Andrew’s Cross on food and drink which came from Scotland over a Union flag.
Ruth Watson, the founder of Keep Scotland the Brand, previously told The National that research repeatedly showed that Scotland’s name is “good for business”.
