Booths faces ‘British’ beef fraud probe

BOOTHS has been linked to a food fraud probe over the passing off of imported beef as British.

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), part of the Food Standards Agency, said meat and deli products from South America and Europe were supplied to a retailer labelled as British. It did not name the supermarket but yesterday it was revealed as Booths by The Grocer.

A spokesman for Booths, whose stores are mainly in northern England, said: ‘Booths can confirm that they have been working closely and cooperatively with the NFCU since being made aware of potential food fraud issues in 2021. Booths are categorically not under investigation by the NFCU.’

She said that once made aware of the issue Booths ‘instantly’ removed the products from sale and ceased trading with the supplier. ‘The investigation relates to a potential serious food fraud incident, this is not a food safety issue,’ she added.