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Rotten pork

(210 Posts)
Whitewavemark2 Fri 31-Mar-23 07:40:09

So, once again we have apparently been sold meat that is lying about its country of origin, rotten and being badly handled.

How does this happen?

MaizieD Fri 31-Mar-23 07:52:44

Is it something to do with the fraudsters charter our Brexit government handed over when it decided that border controls on incoming goods from the EU would be too much hassle and delay. So they took back control by eliminating controls.

Rotten meat welcome; desperate people in rubber dinghies not welcome...

Or is this something completely different, Wwmk2?

MaizieD Fri 31-Mar-23 08:44:32

www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/30/rotten-pork-sold-in-uk-may-lead-to-tighter-control-of-food-safety-body-fsa

M0nica Fri 31-Mar-23 08:56:10

This story was broken on the front page of the Daily Telegraph a day earlier.

It seems this fraud might have been going on for over a decade, so nothing to do with Brexit.

Katie59 Fri 31-Mar-23 09:05:31

There has always the risk of unfit food coming into the food chain, and criminals willing to make money doing it. Because there are very few checks on imports coming into the UK these days it’s easy to do.
Most UK buyers will do their own stringent checks, a few are willing to take a risk to make a fast buck, for processed food probably happens frequently, undetected.

MaizieD Fri 31-Mar-23 09:14:11

M0nica

This story was broken on the front page of the Daily Telegraph a day earlier.

It seems this fraud might have been going on for over a decade, so nothing to do with Brexit.

I don't read the Telegraph so I didn't know anything about the story.

Which was why I asked in my first post if it was something different from a Brexit story.

MaizieD Fri 31-Mar-23 09:18:37

The Guardian story says that it was one of the UK's top food manufacturers that bought in and used the rotten meat. That is serious stuff, Where were the 'stringent checks' on this company?

Whitewavemark2 Fri 31-Mar-23 09:27:16

I don’t think that we can be too careful in any regard to the quality of our food.

Brexit of course is not directly responsible.

The governments decision to relax port checks however is directly responsible.

They will have been warned by the appropriate department, but have clearly made the decision to break yet another public service on which we all rely.

Freya5 Fri 31-Mar-23 09:46:14

Nothing new here, remember, whilst in EU, Dutch trading companies sold beef, containg horsemeat, , across Europe, who checked them.

Katie59 Fri 31-Mar-23 09:59:19

Mislabeling is common place, once the product is processed it looses its identity, cheap ingredients in a premium product is how they make money. Just because it says Danish Bacon or Anchor butter does not mean that is the origin.

M0nica Fri 31-Mar-23 18:58:58

I do not read the Daily Telegraph either Maizie but the BBC News site has the front pages of all the papers available in one item, so I can click on that and read the front page of all the papers in one go. This is how I saw the article on the Telegraph's front page. Now had it been on page 2.........

Fleurpepper Fri 31-Mar-23 19:11:17

M0nica

This story was broken on the front page of the Daily Telegraph a day earlier.

It seems this fraud might have been going on for over a decade, so nothing to do with Brexit.

Remind me, how many years since Brexit??

It was allowed to hide behind it and all the hubris.

MerylStreep Fri 31-Mar-23 19:26:17

As far as I’m aware nobody has died in the uk, unlike Germany.

www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/contaminated-meat-scandal-exposes-germanys-food-safety-flaws/

M0nica Sat 01-Apr-23 09:43:15

No one in the UK has died as a result of this scandal, but they have in the near past - and of course not all cases food poisoning causing deaths hits the headlines. It has here because the manufacturer was so grossly negligent over such a long period of time.

Yammy Sat 01-Apr-23 10:02:27

Many years ago I was warned by a family of Butchers never to buy cheap minced beef. Always steak mince. They said that even then 40+ years ago Many butchers bought a box of odds and ends from Argentina and minced it.
Maybe I am fussy but I like to see the country of origin on the packet and buy British beef.
My mother who was in catering used to tell us all the scams producers got up to adulterate their products and make them go further.
I have had Shigella Far Eastern dysentery and would not wish it on my worst enemy, that was not from food though, but from holding a very dirty hand and then forgetting to wash mine. It does make me cautious and at a slight smell, I throw things out.

Fleurpepper Sat 01-Apr-23 10:08:50

No-one has died, but the lack of checks for meat imports, from the EU or beyond, at our ports, etc, is of huge concern. Checks have not been implemented by UK as they know it would make food shortages and bottle necks much much worse.

Anything can come in- and the Farming Associations have warned of a) competition from cheap imports, but much much worse, poor quality meat and the massive risk of importing diseases like Foot and Mouth, and worse.

Fleurpepper Sat 01-Apr-23 10:12:50

Here is just on of the articles on the subject. It is very concerning. One lorry was stopped and found to carry very poor quality meat coming from abroad- not at the Port, as would happen before Brexit, but on random road check. Those who want to get rid of poor quality and worse meat know that there are NO checks currently for imports into the UK and are having a field day!

So much for getting back control sad

www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/17/uk-risks-disastrous-food-scandal-lax-post-brexit-border-controls-nfu-chief-minette-batters

M0nica Sat 01-Apr-23 17:32:05

Ever since the BSE crisis I have only bought British beef from known sources. Currently I only buy beef. which is 'Pasture for Life' certified.It means it is entirely grass fed. The hay in winter usually comes from the farm it is raised on. It is also environmentally neutral www.pastureforlife.org/research/pasture-for-life-a-solution-to-global-warming/ This meat is expensive, but I only buy mince and stewing cuts and I have halved our average meat portion size.

Germanshepherdsmum Sat 01-Apr-23 17:41:29

I only buy meat from my butcher. Everything is sourced from local farms, high welfare standards. Some beef from the EU comes from the devastated rainforests. If anyone saw the Sky investigation into how the animals were transported thousands of miles to slaughter, enduring terrible cruelty, they wouldn’t touch it. I would rather go without meat than pay the price I do, knowing that humane standards have been applied at every stage. The same applies to eggs, though most are barn eggs now due to avian flu - but worth paying more for eggs from chickens that have the best possible life. We don’t have to eat animals or animal products.

M0nica Sat 01-Apr-23 20:16:08

Living in a rural area, all the our meat comes from farm shops and is the produce of known farms. I do appreciate that this convenience isn't available to those living in urban areas, but many farm shops sell online.

My local farm doesn't have any cattle going to slaughter until late April and I am almost out of beef, so I ordered some online from an accredited Pasture for Life outlet.

Fleurpepper Sun 02-Apr-23 15:09:56

CJD came from good farms and good village butchers. One reason why British beef is still highly worrying for EU markets and why anyone who lived in the UK at the time is still not allowed to give blood as we are still a potential risk.

Katie59 Sun 02-Apr-23 17:01:47

CJD (BSE) came from relaxing the regulations lowering the temperature treating meat and bone meal, just like making badgers protected an unexpected consequence of a change.

Fleurpepper Sun 02-Apr-23 18:42:48

What did badgers have to do with CJD???

Fact is CJD was not imported into UK, but was a result of decisions made in the UK.

Germanshepherdsmum Sun 02-Apr-23 20:32:45

You’re showing your pro EU/anti Brit side fp - shades of the past.

Fleurpepper Sun 02-Apr-23 21:53:19

Not at all. Facts are facts. I used the butcher's and the pub next door every Friday!

As for badgers, what have they got to do with CJD?