THE TAINTED MEAT SCANDAL
1 in 5 products found to contain animals NOT listed on packaging
consumers are being misled by shops and restaurants selling meat products which contain animals not on the label.
The scandal affects up to one in five products such as mince, sausages, burgers, curries, kebabs and pizzas, according to the Food standards Agency.
The details suggest that food firms have failed to learn the lessons of the horsemeat scandal of five years ago.
The use of tainted meat appears to be part of a deliberate scam across the food sector – mainly involving small independent businesses but also some supermarkets – that is designed to mislead and profiteer.
However, most names of the brands and shops implicated have not been revealed. The FsA published figures showing that 145 of 645 meat samples tested by councils across the country last year came back as containing animals not declared on the label – equivalent to one in five.
using substitute cheap or waste meat without declaring it on a label or menu is denying customers what they have paid for. But it can also cause serious ethical and religious offence.
For example, Hindu consumers who eat meat will be having lamb dishes that contain undeclared beef, when eating beef is against their religion. similarly, muslims and Jews will be eating products containing pork, the consumption of which is against their beliefs.
The food watchdog, which was forced to publish the details in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the BBc, has refused to name all but three of the businesses involved.
It argued the public’s right to know was outweighed by concerns that publishing the names ‘would be likely to prejudice’ the businesses’ commercial interests or make it difficult for councils to collect and test products in future.
The level of contamination with ‘foreign’ meat was so high in the 145 cases that the FsA considers it is likely to be the result of a deliberate act, rather than accidental. The greatest contamination involved fresh and cooked lamb products. In some cases curries and kebabs described as lamb were entirely made from beef.
Bizarrely, one restaurant was serving ‘Bangalore duck’ which was actually lamb. In other parts of the country, takeaways were selling pizzas with a ‘ham’ topping that was really turkey. one Yorkshire business sold ‘ostrich mince’ which was beef. And the beef in some bolognese products turned out to be part pork or chicken.
The tests found a very high number of fresh ‘lamb mince’ products contained other types of meat. one sample from Belfast was up to 30 per cent beef and another from Bury was 20 per cent. ‘Lamb mince’ sold in many areas, ranging from coventry to Kent and Devon, included beef and, in some cases, chicken.
A ‘lamb pasanda’ sold by a Dudley curry restaurant was more than 60 per cent beef, and a ‘lamb korma’ from Blackpool was entirely beef. This pattern was seen in curries and kebabs sold in many other cities.
‘Pork sausages’ sold by small butchers, including a number in northern Ireland and Durham, contained undeclared beef and lamb. even some ‘upmarket’ sausages were not what they seemed. A pork Toulouse sausage, said to be made with english free range pork, red wine and parsley, contained lamb, beef and chicken. ‘Free range beef and red onion’ sausages were more than 8 per cent pork.
Adulteration was also found in beef mince and burgers in many parts of the uK. The prosecuted businesses were Totties Butchers in oldham; Penygraig Family Butchers in Tonypandy, Wales; and the Albion Farm shop and cafe in saddleworth, Lancashire.
The FsA said council tests concentrated on businesses and types of food that are more likely to be adulterated, which means the scale of the problem appears higher than is generally the case. Just three of the examples came from supermarkets.
It said: ‘ The figures are not representative of the wider food industry.’
‘Misleading and profiteering’
AFTER the 2013 horsemeat scandal, ministers were at pains to reassure the public that the food industry would be properly regulated. So consumers have every right to be outraged about tests which found nearly one in five samples from restaurants and shops contained meat from animals not on the label.
The findings are deeply concerning for everyone who cares about what they eat, but particularly for Muslims and other religious groups who avoid certain meats.
Even more worrying is the stench of coverup. The findings were not published by the regulator, the Food Standards Agency, off its own back, but following a Freedom of Information request. And perversely, officials are still refusing to name all but three of the businesses involved.
Yesterday we learned ministers want to force all restaurants to display calorie counts on menus. But before issuing nannying edicts, shouldn’t they first make sure we can trust what’s on our plate?