Tesco-owned company operating in Warwick accused of mis-labelling beef and changing 'best before' dates

Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'
Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.
Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.

Tesco-owned company operating in Warwick is accused of mis-labelling beef and changing 'best before' dates

Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.

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But the British National Beef Association (NBA), which has investigated the matter, said the 'errors' had been repeated and described the company's excuse as 'lip service'.

Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.
Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.

The NBA returned to the Booker Cash and Carry in Warwick for a second visit and photographed more cuts of beef where Booker labels were stuck over the original import labels. These had sell-by dates extended by four months and the country of origin changed.

Chief officer Neil Shand said: "Much of this beef will end up in the service sector – pubs, restaurants, hospitals, schools - and will be fed to unsuspecting consumers with no idea where the beef has come from, when it was slaughtered or that it has been sat in a freezer for 23 or more months."

He said such practices would give those eating the products a bad experience of eating beef which would be bad for the British beef industry.

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"There is a lot of talk about protecting our food standards and that we should not import hormone-treated meat but what's the point of us trying to do that if the labelling here can be manipulated and key information hidden."

Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.
Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.

Mr Shand said he was not accusing the south American beef producers of anything untoward but that UK consumers should be given honest information.

In a statement, Booker thanked Mr Shand for bringing the matter to its attention for the second time and claimed it was, again, human error and an isolated incident. The company said it had repeated the correct proceedures to its staff.

The NBA said beef imported from Paraguay had been labelled as from Uruguay and that details of freezing and shelf life were unclear. The imports had been made under World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.

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In September, Mr Shand asked Booker to explain why the Uruguayan beef had been intentionally over-labelled with one from Booker’s own corporation, obliterating the majority of the original information, including the best before date.

Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.
Booker foods, which has a 'cash and carry' business in Warwick, said mis-labelling and date changing on its beef products was 'human error'.

He said Booker's response referenced its strong support of the British meat industry, claiming the incident was down to human error and ‘not in line with our required procedure’. The wholesaler also said it ‘will now be carrying out spot checks’.

However in a follow up visit to Booker’s Warwick store at the end of October, the NBA once again found labelling issues.

“It appears that, in spite of assurances, the same humans are still making the same errors,” said Mr Shand.

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“As our pictures show, a Booker label is once again applied on top of the original label, obliterating most of the original information.

"Only the best before date can be seen - both the freezing and slaughter date have been covered which is contrary to Food Standards Authority regulations.

“The second picture is even more concerning. Although the original and the subsequently applied Booker labels are distinctly separate, the shelf life is influenced. The original foreign language Uruguayan label shows a best before date of March 2021, the new Booker label extends this date to July 2021."

Mr Shand said the NBA feels the fail-safes and new procedures promised were nothing more than lip service and he said his association was 'seriously concerned' about the practices.

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“It is well documented that a shorter freezer life points to a better quality product - longer 'best before' dates therefore have the potential for a bad taste experience, which may turn consumers away from a valuable source of protein,” he said.

He said transparency, accuracy and honesty in labelling is imperative and it is the responsibility of all retailers to ensure the customer is allowed an informed choice.

A spokesman for Booker said: "Booker takes food safety and labelling very seriously. We are a proud supporter of the British Meat Industry selling a wide range of British and Irish beef and lamb.

"We are pleased to report that we have regular Environmental Health Office visits and these have not identified any issues either locally or across our estate. We would like to thank Mr Shand for again drawing this to our attention. We regret that this second instance has happened, however it is basic human error, isolated and not deliberate.

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"The issue is not common practice and not in line with our required procedure. However, we are updating our training packs and regular checks in response to this to ensure any labels are placed correctly moving forward. We are sorry that this incident has occurred and have taken steps to reiterate to our colleagues the correct procedures."

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