Australian beef mislabelled as ‘Welsh’
25th October 2021
Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales) said it has taken ‘immediate action’ after it came to light that a beef product was labelled as ‘Welsh’ despite the label also saying the animal was born, reared and slaughtered in Australia.
An investigation has been carried out by HCC and Trading Standards after a photo began circulating on social media that appeared to show an imported beef product with the ‘Welsh Beef’ logo displayed on the packaging.
HCC said an investigation revealed labelling errors which would account for beef of Australian origin being mistakenly contained in packaging with the PGI Welsh Beef label.
In order to qualify and be labelled as Welsh Beef, the cattle must have been born and reared in Wales, be fully traceable, and be processed in an HCC-approved facility which is subject to regular audits.
HCC chief executive Gwyn Howells said: “We take any potential case of mislabelling meat very seriously, although it is thankfully rare. The Welsh red meat brands are vital to our farmers and processors, and their integrity is of paramount importance.”
Mr Howells said HCC has been reassured that measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence.
“We continue to be vigilant and we thank members of the public for bringing issues to our attention,” he added.
“The Welsh red meat sector has traceability systems second to none. This includes a full audit system for processors who are within the PGI scheme for both beef and lamb. Also, in recent years, we have added an additional level of forensic science to the process.
“Using this award-winning technology, we can spot-check meat at any stage in the supply chain and identify with an extremely high degree of accuracy if the animal was born and reared in Wales.”
