‘British only’ supermarket involved in major beef fraud probe

A supermarket which prides itself on selling only British meat has become embroiled in a major beef fraud investigation.

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) – part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) – is carrying out the probe and revealed that a supplier has been selling “large volumes” of pre-packed meat and deli products from South America and Europe to the retailer in question.

See also: Analysis: 10 years on from ‘horsegate’

Farmers Weekly was made aware of the massive investigation into the supermarket supplier, which involves the review of about 1.3m documents, by the NFCU’s deputy head, Reginald Bevan.

He said the products were being sold to consumers as “best British beef”.

The NFCU has so far declined to name the supermarket, as the case is ongoing, but Farmers Weekly understands it is not one of the six biggest supermarkets.

Products pulled

At present, the investigation is looking at only one retailer, which has since pulled the products from its shelves.

But insiders have warned it would be “naive” to think the problem is not more widespread, including actors in wholesale supply chains.

The farming industry has responded with surprise and anger to the revelations, which come 10 years after the horsegate scandal that rocked Europe.

National Beef Association chief executive Neil Shand said anyone who was caught falsely labelling or adulterating food products should “have the book thrown at them”, while NFU president Minette Batters said it “showed how the system can be abused”.

“Horsegate brought this country, as all food scares do, to a standstill and created a huge level of mistrust,” Mrs Batters added. “We have to learn lessons from that era.”

Other industry bodies, such as the British Meat Processors Association and the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (Aims), hit out at the NFCU and the FSA for failing to share details of the investigation with them.

An Aims spokesman said: “It is only today that we have found the product concerned is beef, and it is our belief, given the popularity of sliced cooked beef across all trade channels, that its sale by food fraudsters will not have been limited to a single supermarket.

“The NFCU’s current play book has the potential to damage UK overseas trade simply by their policy of a lack of transparency and industry engagement.”

Traceability concerns

Concerns have also been raised about the traceability of South American beef more generally, with some reports suggesting cattle from illegally deforested areas are making their way into legitimate supply chains.

Jim Walker, a former NFU Scotland president and Quality Meat Scotland chairman, said: “The price of traceability in South America is a bung.”

Andrew Quinn, deputy head of the NFCU, told Farmers Weekly the retailer concerned continued to work closely and co-operatively with the investigation, to progress the case against the supplier.

“This is not a food safety issue, but a matter of food fraud,” he added. 

“Any fraud investigations of this nature take time to go through evidence and bring to any outcome, including any potential prosecution. We take food fraud very seriously and are acting urgently to protect the consumer.”