Bringing you the latest news on British products in the supermarkets and other major items of interest about British food; here is our round-up for February.

• Tesco has launched a dedicated local food microsite in a bid to grow online sales of locally sourced products. The site shows Tesco suppliers within 50 miles of a shopper's local store and gives users the option to change this to either 30 or 100 miles. The site also allows shoppers to recommend a supplier and producers can put themselves forward as potential suppliers. Click here top visit the site.


• Sales of sustainable fish species such as Atlantic Pollock or Coley Fish have soared after being championed in Channel 4's new Fish Fight campaign. Sainsbury's say sales of Pollack have leapt 167 per cent and Waitrose report an increase of 163 per cent on Dover sole. The campaign has even encouraged Waitrose to launch new fish options such as Sprats (a fish that has almost been forgotten by UK consumers) and Welsh flounder.


• Tesco has announced a new Cheddar deal with British suppliers. The deal means that the store will buy more British Cheddar than all its rivals put together. The cheese will be offered in all Tesco own-label block, grated and sliced mild, medium, mature and extra mature lines, with the exception of its Value tier. 


• Asda and Tesco's have been criticised for 'shunning home produced pork and chicken in favour of cheap imports. An NFU Scotland investigation found that 'virtually all' Asda's bacon is imported, as are their gammon and bacon joints, while its value range of pork chops is a mix of French and German.  A recent '3 for £10' offer in Tesco was on Dutch chicken and pork and 'no British bacon appeared available'. In contrast Morrisons was found to continue to demonstrate a considerable commitment to Scottish and British produce.


• Sainsbury's is gearing up for a major push on regional foods. New signage, such as local images and claims about the products and number of farms involved, has been rolled out to stores in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales this month, with plans for Devon and Cornwall to follow in the next few months. Sainsbury's currently sells about 3,000 regional lines.


• A group of 40 Yorkshire based farmers are launching the first ever regional frozen pea brand, Yorkshire Peas.


• Blueberries have overtaken raspberries as the UK's second favourite fresh berry. Strawberries remain the UK's best-selling fresh berries, but shoppers bought 11.4 per cent more blueberries last year than previous while volume sales of raspberries fell 12.9 per cent.


• The British Beekeeper's Association fear we may lose all our bees within a decade if we are not careful. Honey bees are essential for the pollination of nuts and berries and play varying roles in pollinating apples, onions, broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, courgettes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes and broad beans.


• The Christmas cold snap helped sales of stewing beef go up by 35 per cent on December 2009. Sales of beef mince were also up 13.8 per cent and roasting beef was up 4.8 per cent.


• Finally soaring global wheat costs are a huge cost for farmers using wheat-based grain to feed their animals.  If the meat on the shelves is a few pennies more don't be tempted to switch to a cheap imported alternative.  Play your part in supporting our farming industry and buy British!

Seasonal foods at their best to look out for in the supermarkets this month: 
Vegetables: beetroot, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, onions,  parsnips, potatoes (maincrop), purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, rhubarb, rocket, salsify, shallots, spinach, swede and turnips.
Fruit: apples and pears.
Herbs: chives, coriander, mushrooms (cultivated) and parsley (curly).
Meat: beef, chicken, guinea fowl, hare, mallard, partridge, pork, rabbit, turkey, venison and wood pigeon.
Fish: brill, clams, cockles, conger eel, crab, dab, dover sole, eel, haddock, halibut, hake, john dory, langoustine, lemon sole, lobster, mackerel, mussels, oysters, salmon, scallops, shrimp, skate, turbot, whitebait and winkles.

See at the touch of a button all the British produce currently available in the supermarkets - [search Want to Buy British by product or by supermarket].