Panorama exposes on-going chicken scam
Chicken destined for use in pubs and restaurants is still being pumped full of water chemicals and even pork or beef, despite the efforts of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
And now the FSA has come under fire for failing to protect consumers and the pubs and restaurants using the chicken, from the shoddy practice.
In March, the FSA named and shamed several chicken producers, mostly based in the Netherlands, that pumped their frozen chickens with water and proteins - sometimes from pigs and cows - to make them bigger, without labelling their products correctly. A majority of the chicken investigated was intended to be sold to pubs and restaurants in the UK.
The FSA took action against the companies and said it had stamped out the unsavoury activity.
But last week a shocking Panorama investigation for the BBC discovered many of the Dutch companies were still using chemicals and proteins to sell chicken cheaper.
And worryingly, Panorama's undercover reporter discovered one company had even discovered a way to disguise protein from pigs or cows, so it escaped detection in safety tests.
The FSA says the issue is about accurate labelling and has pointed out that it is not illegal to add water or animal proteins to chicken if it is accurately labelled.
At the moment companies adding pork or beef to chicken need only mention "hydrolysed proteins" on the label but the FSA wants this changed so chicken with added ingredients must be labelled accurately.
It is proposing tightening the current requirements for labelling so chicken with added pork protein, for example, would have to be labelled "chicken product containing pork".
But Panorama, The Guardian and other national newspapers have slammed the agency as ineffectual because the rogue companies have found new ways to disguise the pork and beef protein they add to the chicken.
The FSA said: "The agency has always made it clear that it would look into any new evidence that will help it to crack down on these scams."
Pub food comment
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) was set up in the aftermath of the BSE crisis to "separate consumer and industry interests".
In many ways it is an admirable organisation - its website offers handy hints on nutrition and food hygiene.
But, as anyone who watched the Panorama investigation knows, it has been exposed as limp and ineffectual when it comes to the latest scandal to hit British food.
Panorama's nausea-inducing film showed several Dutch chicken producer injecting chicken destined for sale in the UK, with water and animal proteins. It discovered a German company that was happy to boast that the pig skin and cow hide it added to chicken was undetectable. And it confronted the FSA with the evidence.
The answer, according to the FSA, is accurate labelling. But, if companies are producing chicken with undetectable additions, what good will changing labelling regulations do?
What busy pub chef has time to scour the ingredients on a box of chicken fillets?
And most importantly, how will a pub-goer sitting down to enjoy a chicken tikka masala know what has been injected into the food he or she is eating?
Whatever the FSA says it is clear that this is not a labelling issue, but a moral one. A chicken fillet should be just that. It should not be processed or pumped with water and chemicals. And it doesn't matter that it's legal - it's also disgusting.
All credit to pub supplier Brakes. When Panorama discovered its Slegtenhorst chicken contained more water than it claimed, Brakes immediately recalled it. But other companies need to follow suit - and if the FSA is not going to act, then licensees need to push them into doing so.
Demand to know what is in the chicken you are buying. Check labels and ask questions. Buy British if possible and most importantly, don't buy cheap chicken.
Related articles:
Unscrupulous chicken suppliers slammed by FSA (20 March 2003)
