Brussels, 04/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Consumers buying what is marked as meat and meat-based dishes who believe that they are always consuming only the meat and type of meat labelled are in for a big surprise.
Sulphites and water added but not indicated, croquettes containing half the quantity of meat stated on the label, chicken sold as veal in kebabs, deliberately misleading names with makers playing with words, the illegal use of banned additives - all of these are common practice, according to a report published by the European Consumer Organisation BEUC on Wednesday 4 November.
The report, Close-up on the meat we eat, is the result of investigations carried out by BEUC member organisations in seven member states (United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands and Portugal) into whether labels provide consumers - as they should - with factually correct, honest and reliable information on the content and quality of meat products. The findings are not likely to reassure consumers. They reveal a large number of differences, and at times a huge gulf, between the claimed content of the products or dishes and what is actually in them.
The report is based on eleven articles published in the above-mentioned seven countries between April 2014 and August 2015 and covers a wide range of meat products and dishes, and looks also at additives. The study on the “honesty of labelling” is the third chapter of the “Can we trust our meat” campaign launched by BEUC in the wake of the scandal where horsemeat was sold as beef - a scandal beginning to look more like the tip of the iceberg. “Consumers should be able to trust the label on the food they buy. If we are serious about rebuilding confidence in meat, EU Member States need to beef up controls and make sure labels are complete and accurate”, argued BEUC Director General Monique Goyens in presenting the study to the European press.
BEUC is calling for more frequent checks on meat-based foodstuffs, for greater monitoring of the additives used in meat-based products, for checks on the addition of water to be more systematic, for member states to lay more emphasis on checking the kinds and the quantities of additives used, for tackling food fraud to be a priority for the EU and its member states and for the European Commission to clarify certain definitions in the legislation.
“Companies are not lacking in imagination” to mislead consumers, says Sophie Perrin, a BEUC expert on food issues. The multiplicity of misleading practices revealed by BEUC bears witness to this.
Misleading names. Belgian speciality “filet américain preparé” should contain only beef or horse meat, products have been found in Belgium labelled “préparé du chef”, a similar sounding, but very misleading, name as these products contain pork. In the Netherlands, 75% of the samples of chicken and pork satay tested, though they appeared to be made of whole pieces of meat, contained a mixture of small pieces of meat and minced meat.
Misrepresentations. Behind the “100% fresh meat” label can be concealed quite different ingredients, such as water, vegetable protein, additives and flavours. In Belgium, for example, dishes such as “rôti toscan” and “médaillon ardennais” were found, on testing, to contain over 5% water, even though no mention of this was made in the food description.
Meat quality. In the Netherlands, some deep-fried meat croquettes tested were found to contain as little as half the quantity of meat displayed on the label.
Improper use of additives. Though no additives are authorised in fresh meat, EU legislation allows limited use in meat-based preparations (such as sausages and kebabs) and meat-based products (such as hot dogs and salami). The list of additives permitted in meat products is much longer than that for meat preparations. Differences of interpretation of what constitutes a “preparation” and what a “product” throws the door wide open to abuse. In Portugal, for example, the illegal use of sulphites to make minced beef look fresher was discovered: of 26 samples of minced beef tested, 23 contained sulphites, an additive which can cause severe allergic reactions and which is banned in fresh meat. “Companies have no lack of imagination”, says Sophie Perrin.
One meat disguised as another. In the United Kingdom, 40% of the kebabs tested in April 2014 were “contaminated” by other types of meat, such as beef and chicken, and some contained no lamb whatsoever.
The first two chapters of the BEUC campaign looked at labelling of origin and the administration of antibiotics to farm animals. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)