SHOPPERS are being urged to check labels on meat products carefully after inspectors revealed a number of misleading claims at butchers and farm shops, including in Somerset.
Inspectors from the Heart of the South West Trading Standards tea, visited 15 shops – nine in Devon, five in Somerset and one in Torbay – to check labelling and descriptions were accurate, and found just two were compliant.
Checks on websites, social media, and in-store displays uncovered inaccurate or ambiguous descriptions, with some imported products wrongly marketed as ‘local’ or ‘free-range’.
Under UK law, fresh, chilled and frozen meat – including beef, pork, lamb, goat and poultry – must display clear information such as the name of the food, type of meat, and country of origin or rearing and slaughter.
Provenance claims, like ‘Westcountry’ or ‘outdoor-reared’ must be backed up by written confirmation from suppliers, with misleading or unclear labelling being a criminal offence.
After the visits, trading standards has encouraged shoppers to check labels and question traders about vague claims, such as ‘locally-sourced’, which may mean meat was bought from a local wholesaler but imported from abroad.
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Fakir Mohammed Osman, head of the Heart of the South West Trading Standards, said: “We want consumers to feel confident that they are supporting genuine local businesses and farmers.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen evidence of imported meat being sold as ‘local’ and ‘free-range’, which is illegal.
“Our officers will continue inspections and take proportionate action where necessary.”
All businesses checked were given verbal advice and will be re-visited to ensure compliance.
If businesses don’t comply trading standards can take further action, including issuing a food improvement notice, taking formal samples for testing by the Public Analyst, or sharing information with partners like the National Food Crime Unit.
For more information on meat labelling rules, visit devonsomersettradingstandards.gov.uk or contact Trading Standards on 0300 123 2224.
The sad truth of the matter is that most shoppers have pretty well zero trust of anything these days.
Thanks to the Internet, we are all much wiser and more cynical about the constant lies, shoddy goods, dodgy deals and fake claims bombarding us pretty well every day of the week.
Buyer beware has never been more appropriate.
Trust nobody, believe nothing, and stay safe.
The retailers only have themselves to blame for peddling rubbish in the first place.