WHY YOU’LL NEVER TRUST BURGER WHAT’S IN YOUR AGAIN

After disturbing new evidence reveals one in five meat products contains animals that AREN’T on the label...

AS the weekend approaches, perhaps you’re looking forward to a meal out or sitting in front of the tV with a takeaway.

But as you settle down to enjoy that comforting plate of beef and ale pie, or start spooning that fragrant lamb curry over some pilau rice, will you be worrying about whether you are really eating what was written on the menu?

Well, if you aren’t already, it is about time you started. Yesterday it was revealed by the Food Standards Agency that more than a fifth of the 665 meat samples tested last year contained DNA from animals not listed on the label.

Of the 145 problem samples, 73 came from supermarkets, while 22 came from processing plants. the remaining 50 all came from restaurants. Although the FSA acknowledged that many of the samples had come from businesses already under suspicion, that number is still disturbingly high.

As someone who has written extensively about the food industry for three decades, the revelation does not come as a surprise. I have no doubt that over the next few years, the percentage of meat coming from dubious origins will continue to rise unless something drastic is done — which I fear will never happen.

there are two main reasons for my pessimism. First, there is the nature of the meat industry itself, which is a rapacious sector riddled with far too many businesses that are willing to boost their profits by adulterating their products.

While all industries and sectors have their rogue elements, I believe there is a systemic problem within the meat industry that makes it particularly attractive to unscrupulous characters who are really nothing more than criminals.

The issue is the complexity and length of the meat supply chain. If you buy, say, a chicken-based ready-meal from a supermarket, the meat could have come from as far as thailand or Brazil. As you might imagine, that chicken will pass through many hands — sometimes literally — before it ends up on the prongs of your fork here in Britain.

Worse still, the meat will often be partially processed somewhere along that chain — usually with salt and water added to boost flavour and volume — which is quite legal.

At various stages of the process, it is very easy for someone to do something they shouldn’t. With so many possible opportunities to interfere with the product it is enormously difficult to police the problem and, in particular, to identify who is responsible for any contamination.

Although it is harder to pass off other meats as chicken, there is no doubt lamb — which is expensive — is often boosted by adding a cheaper meat such as beef, or worse still, horse. And of course, the more meat is processed — such as mincing it — the easier it is to disguise.

this sort of activity has all the ethical bankruptcy of the drug dealer who cuts his cocaine with some other white powder in order to boost the quantity of his product and therefore his bottom line. Many will remember the horse meat scandal of five years ago, when many products in British and Irish supermarkets were found to contain horse. In one instance, all the meat in a Findus beef lasagne was found to have come from horses rather than cattle.

At the time, the then prime minister, David Cameron, promised to get tough on what he called a ‘very shocking crime’, but that was little more than fine words. In truth, apart from a few arrests, nothing substantial happened.

If anything, things got worse, which brings me to the second part of the problem — the spinelessness of food regulation in this country.

In the past, there was a comprehensive system of monitoring undertaken by the FSA and local trading Standards officers, who would mount regular inspections of restaurants, takeaways, abattoirs, and indeed any form of food processing plant or food supplier. But that system is in crisis. In 2011, the FSA inspected 2,917 abattoirs and cutting plants. In 2017, it visited just 1,725 — a fall of just over 40 per cent. the FSA says this is because of a cut in funding. If that is indeed the case, then how hollow David Cameron’s words seem today.

Anecdotally, I hear FSA inspections are treated almost as a joke by many in the industry. As soon as inspectors arrive at a meat plant, an anodyne announcement will come over the tannoy, saying something like, ‘A set of keys has been found next to the drinks machine’. this will be a coded instruction for employees swiftly to hide anything untoward.

With fewer and less effective inspections, the FSA is essentially relying on whistleblowers to do its work. It has set up an organisation called the National Food Crime Unit, a new law enforcement agency which was established in the wake of the horse meat scandal. however, its funding appears pitiful, with the FSA board approving a mere £2.1 million for next year.

SO WIth inadequate monitoring and enforcement, what can we as consumers do to protect ourselves when we buy meat? the first thing to realise is that this really does matter. those most obviously affected are followers of religions that prohibit the eating of certain types of meat. there is a serious issue if hindus who don’t eat beef are being given it instead of lamb, or if Muslims and Jews are being tricked into buying dishes containing pork.

If you don’t follow one of these religions then you may not think it a problem that you are accidentally eating a different type of meat. however, believing the tainted meat scandal is something you can safely ignore would be a mistake — there can be no doubt that businesses that tell porkers about their meat will also cut costs with food hygiene and safety.

Obviously, it is impossible for consumers to be detectives about every portion of meat they eat — and besides, that would ruin the relaxing fun of going out for a meal.

however, what you can do is avoid processed foods. Never buy ready meals. Stay away from burgers made in factories. Don’t go to chain restaurants where the provenance of their meat is all-but impossible to establish.

Instead go to local, independent restaurants where it is more likely the chef and owner — often the same person — cares about where the meat comes from, and will be happy to tell you. try to buy your meat from a good local butcher.

And no, what I am suggesting is not going to hurt your purse or wallet. It is a myth that supermarkets and chain restaurants are always better value than their independent competitors. With high Streets around the country struggling, it’s also a great way to support your local community.

the essence, then, is to buy meat that has had as small a journey from field to fork as possible, because that is the only way you can be sure of what you eat. It’s that simple.