Are shops selling old meat as fresh beef?
Farmers suspect that poor quality beef from old milking cows is being sold as prime fresh cuts on the high street. The National Beef Association(NBA) has written to the “big four” supermarkets asking them to check that consumers are not been duped. Traditionally, beef from old dairy cows has been used in the processing and fast food industry to make burgers and pies. The meat, which tends to be tougher and poorer quality than from cattle raised specifically to produce beef, is also sold by some leading stores as mince. The farm price of cow meat is considerably lower than prime beef and there are suspicions that some wholesalers, stores and butchers are selling cow meat as steaks and joints in order to boost their profits. This chase for profit has previously seen the import of cheap frozen beef from Brazil and Argentina, despite concerns their farming regimes do not operate to the high standards required in the UK. Argentina has a problem with foot and mouth disease, while there are c
