Missing cross makes Cheltenham man cross
Peter Granville-Edmunds has complained to the store's head office saying the company is unfair because it labels some Welsh and Scottish produce with the national flags, but not its English goods.
Mr Granville-Edmunds, who lives in Hewlett Road said: "I was in the branch on Tewkesbury Road, and also the one in Prior's Road.
"They had the Scottish saltire on some beef and there was also some Welsh goat's cheese with the red dragon flag on."
Mr Granville-Edmunds, 77, said he wasn't upset that produce from the two countries was labelled, but it was unfair that English produce didn't carry a St George cross – having a Union Jack label instead.
He added: "All these countries are British, and we're in Great Britain.
"I'd rather that all the products were just labelled as British and had the Union Jack, because I feel this is divisive between the countries, but if that's not going to happen, then I think it's only fair food from England should have our flag of St George."
Mr Granville-Edmunds, who works as an abstract painter, wrote to Sainsbury's customer service department with his complaint, asking why the English were being treated with contempt by the company.
He demanded Sainsbury's change its policy.
Customer service manager John Brookes replied with an apology.
He said: "We do label some Scottish products with the Saltire, but only where we feel that sourcing from Scotland is of particular importance to the product."
He added that it was the chain's policy to buy British produce, but it would be labelled with the union flag because the supply may be from several regions or may change throughout the year.
"I'm pleased to say that in response to recent feedback from our customers, we're now investigating the feasibility of applying the St George Cross to some products," he said.
"Although this isn't a change we can make immediately, we hope to finalise the details within the next few weeks."
Mr Granville-Edmunds said he would be keeping a close eye on the shelves of Sainsbury's to see if this happened.
He said: "I think they should have thought about this before now. I'll be watching like a hawk."
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