Four people have been given custodial sentences for diverting meat “not fit for human consumption” back into the human food chain. The case relates to 1.9 tons of “Category 3 animal by- products,” (including whole and cut chickens, lamb’s testicles and beef burgers) being processed for sale into the human food chain.
(Note - Category 3 animal by-products (ABPs) are materials derived from animals that are not intended for human consumption but can be safely used for other purposes, such as pet food or composting.)
The meat was discovered at an illegal meat cutting facility in Southwark, London, following an investigation by Southwark Council and the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit. They also found the premises were “not registered as a food business, had no running hot water and the meat was prepared in unhygienic conditions.”
People may remember the horse meat scandal of 2013, where horse DNA (up to 100% in some cases) was found in a variety of frozen “beef” products in the UK and Ireland. I believed such episodes were rare, but Chris in his talk identified a host of food fraud cases Worldwide, and closer to home than you’d think!
Below are links to the FSA, article on the prosecution and what it is doing, amongst others to reduce the risk of food fraud.
Key findings: What works to prevent food fraud | Food Standards Agency