Meat supplier fined £500,000 for selling ‘fake’ lamb

Further enquiries and formal analysis found significant discrepancies between labels and the actual composition of the products.

The investigation found that over a sustained period the company had been manufacturing and supplying kebab products to food outlets across the UK, including Swansea, with labels that falsely described the meat content.

Products marketed and sold as lamb were found in many cases to contain little or no lamb, with other lower-grade ingredients, including skin, fat and other meats, used instead.

Evidence gathered by Swansea Council included product samples, production records, recipes, invoices and material recovered during a multi-agency visit to the company’s premises. Analytical results showed that the company’s products were misdescribed and incorrectly labelled in relation to their meat content and composition.

Swansea Council also consulted with the National Food Crime Unit, part of the Food Standards agency, finding that Kismet Kebabs had previously had a contract with Essex council terminated due to complaints and “potential public health issues” found in a factory audit. In one instance, a lamb doner, claimed to contain 87% lamb, was found to contain only 51% meat and 40% fat.

Rhys Harries, Swansea Council’s trading standards team leader, said: “We became aware of the actions of Kismet Kebabs when we carried out some city-wide analysis of food being offered to consumers in Swansea.

“Our investigations highlighted serious discrepancies with the food labelling of the product compared to the results of our analysis and prompted our follow-up actions against the food manufacturer.

“We hope that the fine and costs serve as a deterrent to other businesses who might consider selling falsely-labelled food in this way.”

Stuart Jessop, Kismet’s defence barrister, told the court the company was established in 2008 and had run for many years without issue. He accepted that at the time of the offences it had “taken its eye off the ball” but reported that since then, significant changes have been made.

Judge Huw Rees ruled that the Kismet Kebabs had engaged in “considerable dishonesty” over a prolonged period and ordered the company to also pay £259,298 in costs.

The firm has been given four years to pay the fine and the costs.

Kismet’s latest financial report, for the 12 months to 31 May 2025, showed the business suffered an operating loss of £738,207 primarily due to “a penalty levied against the company along with associated legal costs”. However, turnover grew by nearly 7% to £19.7m.