Surge in illegal meat imports fuels food safety fears

In a report published today, MPs state that it is “unacceptable” that there is no clear, publicly available data showing the scale and nature of the illegal meat entering the country and its destination, as they warn of large and increasing volumes of illegally imported meat finding its way on to high streets, farms, markets, restaurants and kitchen tables.

The report highlights that illegal meat imports, which have been increasing for a number of years under a succession of governments, carry a high risk of animal diseases that threaten food security, farming and the economy.

The experts explained that some of the most serious animal diseases, like foot and mouth disease and African swine fever (ASF), can travel long distances and cross borders in contaminated meat and dairy products.

Illegally imported meat also poses a serious health risk to consumers, as the conditions of slaughter, handling and storage are unknown and unregulated, meaning it is more likely to carry bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause illness in humans.

There is currently ‘no effective deterrent to meat smuggling’

In March, the committee visited the Port of Dover and witnessed a van being searched, with meat found packaged in plastic bags and newspaper, stowed in cardboard boxes and in a defrosted chest freezer.

The MPs said that they were “greatly concerned” to see the inadequate conditions of the Border Force facilities at the port with limited ability to decontaminate inspection areas and no dedicated handwashing facilities.

One worker told MPs they had found “an entire pig stuffed inside a suitcase, with its legs cut off badly so that it could fit inside. Not a professionally butchered animal”. Workers from Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) told the committee that “there are literally hundreds of targeted vehicles driving straight past, as we do not have the resources to stop and search”.

The committee’s report contests DEFRA’s reassurance that intelligence-led checks are being performed at the border, instead summarising the reality on the ground as “a limited and incomplete intelligence network, strained enforcement capability, and port facilities unsuitable for seizing significant volumes of potentially contaminated meat”.

Today’s report finds that there is currently no effective deterrent to meat smuggling. Therefore, MPs call on DEFRA to deliver a plan to immediately start fining and prosecuting repeat offenders and those who are attempting to smuggle significant amounts of animal products.

The committee notes DEFRA’s plans to crush vehicles carrying illegal imports but warns this is “not a silver bullet” to solve the problem.

The MPs said that animal disease threats are a national security issue but found that there is currently no identifiable or effective ownership of the issue of illegal meat smuggling and called on the department to create a strategy for product of animal origin (POAO) smuggling in collaboration with the National Food Crime Unit (FSA), the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (FSS), port health authorities, inland local authorities and Border Force.

READ MORE: Scottish industry leaders call to support local red meat over imports

READ MORE: English red meat industry adds £5.5bn to UK economy

‘Britain is sleepwalking through one of biggest food safety crises’

The report also finds that “public awareness of animal disease risks is low, as is awareness of the rules about what food you can bring into the country for personal use or as a gift”. MPs added that this should be tackled with broader-reaching communications and public awareness campaigns from the government.

MPs welcomed DEFRA’s ban on personal imports of most meat and dairy from the EU but said that the ban has been “toothless”, with prohibited animal products continuing to enter the UK through airports, sea ports and the Eurotunnel in parcels, personal baggage and vehicles.

The report states that criminal enterprises are using the personal import routes to smuggle in large quantities of illegal meat for sale around the country “with impunity”.

The chairman of the EFRA Committee, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “Every day, vans laden with undeclared, unhygienic and unrefrigerated meat are rolling through our ports for distribution and sale in Britain. The authorities tasked with tackling this wave of illegal produce find themselves without the necessary leadership, resources and intelligence to do so.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that Britain is sleepwalking through its biggest food safety crisis since the horse meat scandal. A still bigger concern is the very real risk of a major animal disease outbreak. The single case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany this year, most likely caused by illegally imported meat, cost its economy one billion euros.

“This problem has been building over a number of years under successive governments. We are calling on this government to get a grip on what has become a crisis by establishing a national taskforce with proper leadership and a strategy, boosting food crime intelligence networks, creating and enforcing real deterrents to tackle the criminal enterprises involved and equipping port health and local authorities with the resources and the powers they need.”

READ MORE: Supply chain reform needed as supermarkets are ‘failing farmers’

READ MORE: Defra’s £3.1m boost is not enough to tackle illegal meat imports

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