Zebu sold as British beef in south-west restaurants

02 May 2008 by
Zebu sold as British beef in south-west restaurants

Pubs and restaurants are labelling foreign beef as "local" or "British" according to a BBC investigation in the south-west of England.

The BBC DNA tested meat at 40 pubs and restaurants and found that eight of the samples were from the zebu, a breed of humped-back cow found in Brazil, Africa and Asia, despite claims that it was locally sourced.

As a result of the investigation the Food Standards Agency has called for the law to be re-examined, forcing pubs and restaurants to prove where their meat has come from in the same way as butchers have to with raw meat.

The National Beef Association told the BBC that the practise was a "great big con" and was exploiting customer demand for locally-sourced food.

Last year a similar investigation by ITV consumer show Undercover Mum found steaks sold in JD Wetherspoon and Greene King's Hungry House pubs were zebu.

Following that investigation Greene King said it insisted on rigorous standards from its butchers to provide beef from recognised, traceable herds.

The English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) have excluded Zebu meat from its quality standard beef scheme since July 2007.

Rob McFarlane, director of meat and poultry at Prime Meats said: "All caterers have to remember is if they wish to promote the provenance and origin of the meat on your menu it is essential to be sure it comes from where they think it does. There is a growing trend of promoting provenance on menus and if what's being stated is incorrect the consequences can be serious, not to mention the loss of trust with your customers."

McFarlane added that caterers should ask suppliers for proof of origin, as under the beef labeling regulations, meat should clearly show where it was slaughtered, cut and packed.

Read the BBC investigation here >>

Pub chains accused of serving zebu meat >>


Greene King denies ‘sub-standard' steaks >>

Zebu on Wikipedia >>

By Christopher Walton

E-mail your comments to Christopher Walton here.

The Caterer Blog](http://www.caterersearch.com/blogs/catering-news-blog/) Catch up with more news and gossip on the Caterer Blog here
[Newsletters For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking