IN an effort to convince the public about the quality of their produce, supermarkets have introduced all sorts of labels, says the Countryside Alliance's Clare Rowson.

"We seem to have got so bogged down in the number of choices available - barn fresh, farm fresh, free-range, organic, fat free, double-baked, foil fresh - that we need to take a step back and remind ourselves of the pleasures of uncomplicated, fresh, local food," Clare added.

"You might think local retailers are holding their own and fighting back against the supermarkets' stranglehold on our food industry, but you cannot take this for granted.

"In the modern world, 95 per cent of the fruit and half of the vegetables in the UK are imported. The amount of food being flown into the UK doubled in the 1990s and is predicted to rise further each year. Food in the UK now travels 50 per cent further than it did even 15 years ago.

"This trend has to be reversed if local producers and growers are to survive. British producers deserve a level playing field and a fighting chance and it is our role to see they get it.

"There is nothing on earth that can beat the taste of locally-produced and grown produce."

THE timing of it couldn't be better. Just as supermarket giant Tesco announces record profits and sends a tsunami wave across the world of food retailing, crushing almost anything that stands in its way, the little man, and woman, are fighting back.

The Countryside Alliance has launched a huge competition to find the country's best rural retailer and entrants from Worcestershire are set to give competitors from around the UK a real fight.

The Best Rural Retailer competition, run in conjunction with Farmers Weekly magazine and British Food Fortnight, will find the best independent rural food retailer which flies the flag for quality local produce. It started this week and will close on Tuesday, October 25.

It is intended to show there is life beyond the corporate glitz, huge car parks and neon lighting of the supermarkets. A world where service is personal, quality is high and much of the produce really is 'farm fresh', being grown only a short distance from where it is sold.

Each of the 12 Countryside Alliance regions will be having their own heats, with a winner from each going on to compete for the title of Britain's Best Rural Retailer. The winner will be announced during a special reception at the Houses of Parliament early in the New Year. "There's a great

chance the winner will come from Worcestershire," said Clare Rowson, Midland regional director of the Countryside Alliance.

"We have a fantastic farming pedigree and some very enterprising retailers who are taking advantage of the great food and produce grown locally, as well as local game.

"Show your support for your local farm shop, market stall or anywhere that you can buy local food by sending in a nomination. By nominating a rural retailer, not only will you be helping to keep the rural economy healthy, you might win a champagne day out at a Countryside Race Day for you and three other people. Everyone who gets involved will be entered into a prize draw.

"Recent research showed that every £10 spent with a local food initiative is worth £25 to the local economy, compared with just £14 when spent in a supermarket chain. So buy local and eat the Worcestershire economy healthy."

Fifty years ago, the very idea of such a competition would have seemed absurd, for the corner shop held sway, so did the local butchers, bakers and fruit and veg merchants and British agriculture produced most of what we ate.

But now, big is beautiful, supermarket chains with their bulk buying power dominate and imports have increased rapidly.

The Countryside Alliance's competition enables consumers to nominate unsung local retailers and give them some much needed publicity in their fight to stay afloat.

"If your local retailer is a great ambassador for local produce and is going the extra mile for your community, then tell us," said Clare.

"The Best Rural Retailer competition hopes to attract nominations from all walks of rural enterprise. You can nominate a farm shop, a PYO, a farmers market, a delicatessen, a mobile shop. This is a celebration of diversity as much as anything else.

The only criteria is that the retailer be independent and sell mainly local produce."

So get nominating.

l Nominations for Worcestershire and Herefordshire can be made at www.countryside-alliance.org or at www.fwi.co.uk. Alternatively consumers can email details of their nominated retailer, their own details and their reasons for nomination to info@countryside-alliance.org. For further information contact Clare Rowson on 01905 827333 or 07900 820819.