Q1: Why write a sourcing policy?

At Honeybuns, we continuously review current food issues and their impact on small, artisan food producers and the consumer. We feel that "expert opinions" are often over simplified and are voiced by those who have not necessarily been involved in food production at a hands on level.

Current hot potatoes in our industry include: using local suppliers, organic status, Fairtrade and low food miles..... plus lots more.

To be thinking about such issues must be a positive thing. On the other hand, to focus just on these handy headlines would be to underestimate the many plates that food producers need to spin. By explaining our sourcing policy, it is our hope that we can shed some light upon the choices we make and why.

Food very often seems to be presented in the media as a highly emotive subject. For instance, if a producer is not organic, they are often deemed to be second rate. If a producer is not using their nearest supplier for a certain ingredient the producer may be criticised for increasing total food miles. Hopefully, with the following FAQs and answers we can give an insight into the small producer's world.

Q2: Why don't you use 'supplier X' who is the closest to your bakery and reduce food miles?

Take our free-range eggs for example: we use a local free-range egg supplier, and we have been delighted with their service and quality. They are based 5 miles away from us. Other egg suppliers have not been the best choice for Honeybuns.due to issues such as variable product quality and the lack of suitable Quality Assurance paperwork.

Sometimes it seems the media only see above the water line. In reality, the food producer is paddling away like BillyO to make sure all criteria are met by each ingredient supplier before deciding who to buy from.

Quality of the produce, traceability, organic status, quality of service, food miles and price all form part of the equation.

Q3: Why aren't you organic?

We do not have organic certification, although we do use a number of organic ingredients in our products. There are several reasons for sometimes using organic ingredients in preference to non organic ones.

For instance, we use an organic icing sugar because we are keen to avoid the artificial caking agent in non organic brands. Our chocolate, however, is non organic. The chocolate supplier we use is absolutely excellent. They are the only manufacturer who can provide us with products which are gluten free (no trace) whilst tasting world class. It so happens that they don't produce an organic version. In this instance, the gluten free verification is vital and outweighs some other considerations.

Ingredients need to be organic if the non organic version has artificial additives. Non organic maple syrup can contain formaldehyde (part of treatment process) so we choose to use an organic brand.

Q4: Have you considered putting the food miles of your products on the packaging?

We consider all aspects of our packaging and printed information on a continuous basis. We don't believe a simple food miles number will convey the myriad of variables involved in food transportation. For instance, some of the ingredients we buy in are only produced in far off countries. The organic coconut curls come from Sri Lanka and most of our nuts come from southern European countries. We always ensure that such ingredients are transported by sea rather than air to minimise environmental impact.

Similarly, consider the geographic spread of our customers and our export market. We specialise in making gluten free cakes and are in a niche market. It is true that we sell to non coeliacs too, but we still need to seek our non mass market customers out and get our product to them for Honeybuns to stay profitable. We try to minimise our impact on the environment and offset other negative impact by recycling our waste, encouraging wildlife and raising money for the local community. We are always questioning what we do and why we do it with a view to improving.

Summary

The above FAQs are intended to provide an insight into our sourcing conscience and criteria. We want to make gorgeous cake and are in favour of more cups of tea and a slice of something sweet. We want to operate our business in a responsible way and have fun. As with many things in life, we concede that to achieve our aims we need to put constant effort into maintaining some kind of balance. We all make qualitative judgments both consciously and subconsciously every day. For instance "If I drive to visit my friend in hospital, am I an eco sinner?". It is no simpler in the world of food.

By being transparent about the choices Honeybuns make we hope this will be a springboard to better ways of doing things.

If you have any comments or suggestions, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Please e-mail thebee@honeybuns.co.uk

Emma Goss-Custard