May 2, 2008

Zebu beef sold as "British" in England food outlets

A BBC undercover investigation has shown that 20 percent of beef sold as "local" or "British" in pubs and restaurants in southwest England comes from abroad.

The investigation revealed that beef in eight out of 40 tested venues was not British despite claiming to be so.

The BBC took samples for DNA testing and found that eight were from a humped back zebu, which only exists in South America and Africa.

According to Jilly Greed, a representative of the National Beef Association in southwest England, it is an exploitation of consumer demand for real local food.

She said the situation would get worse unless the supply chain in the hospitality industry is properly audited.

Labelling laws need to be clarified because it is really complicated, said Sarah Appleby, head of the imported food division at the Food Standards Agency.

The government had not been aware that foreign beef was being passed off as British or local in food outlets, the BBC reported.