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Retail industry figures recently spoke out about the need for the ombudsman, proposed by the Competition Commission to oversee retailers' dealings with suppliers, to have the power to protect suppliers, possibly by allowing them to remain anonymous.
Wilfrid Emmanuel-Jones, owner of supplier The Black Farmer, said: "It's no good having an ombudsman unless they are anonymous, so they can make a complaint, its investigated and records can be seized."
Robin Tapper, senior advisor, food chain, to the NFU, agreed: "More farmers did come forward to the commission once they had confidentiality." However, he added that the ombudsman did not have to wait for anonymous tip-offs from suppliers, and "could act on their own behalf" to investigate unacceptable retailer practice.
Tim Kershaw, director of retail consultant Libra Europe, said that anonymity might be impossible for some: "If there are only two own-label suppliers supplying a retailer in a category, it's going to be impossible to stay anonymous.
"Anonymity would have to be driven by a regulator, looking at a range of suppliers and retailers category by category," he added.?
Has the number of customer complaints about the price of goods increased recently?
