Booths confirms it is the retailer involved in fake British beef scandal
13th March 2023
Following recent reports of beef products being mislabelled as British, Booths said it ‘acted instantly’ to remove all relevant products from sale and ceased trading with the supplier when it was made aware of potential food fraud.
Stock photo for illustration only.
It was revealed last week that pre-packed meat and deli products being sold in a UK supermarket were labelled as British but in fact came from South America and Europe.
After much speculation, Booths Supermarkets has confirmed it is the retailer embroiled in the scandal, but said it is not under investigation by the National Food Crime Unit.
Booths said it removed all relevant products from sale and ceased trading with the supplier with immediate effect when it was made aware of potential issues in 2021.
The supermarket chain clarified that the investigation relates to a limited selection of cooked meat products and its fresh meat, poultry and game products are ‘entirely unaffected’ by the investigation.
The supermarket said in a statement: ‘Following some recent speculation Booths Supermarkets can confirm that they have been working closely and co-operatively with the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) since being made aware of potential food fraud issues in 2021.
‘Booths are categorically NOT under investigation by the NFCU.’
The supermarket, which is known as ‘the Waitrose of the north’ said it is ‘absolutely confident in its British-only meat commitment’, with the exception of the limited selection of cooked meat products impacted in 2021.
NFCU deputy head Andrew Quinn said last week that it is not an issue of food safety, but food fraud.
