John Porter: Where's the beef?

As a piece of journalism, Undercover Mum​, shown on ITV last night, wasn't particularly well-researched or balanced.

Despite the best efforts of policewoman-turned-kids-crusader Nina Hobson, there was no 'smoking gun' to show that pub groups are deliberately misleading customers about the origin of meat on the menu.

What we did learn was that:

• A) Many pub staff have no idea where the meat - or any other produce - on their employers' menus comes from; and
• B) Most consumers are surprised to learn that the average cow is a large, smelly and fairly ugly beast. That's just as true for most European varieties as it is for the life-size model of an unfortunate-looking zebu which was wheeled up outside a branch of Wetherspoons by Ms Hobson last night.

However, despite the programme's shortcomings, it did highlight some real issues that the trade is going to have to face up to, and probably quite soon.

Traditionally, consumers in both retail and foodservice haven't been too bothered about where steak and other meat on their menu came from, or what kind of life the animal that produced it had. The approach has been 'don't ask, don't tell'.

That is changing. Consumers are asking more questions. Value-for-money is important, especially in the sectors of the pub market investigated by Undercover Mum​. But as with three-for-a-fiver t-shirts, consumers are waking up to the fact that everything has a price, if not always in monetary terms.

There is also some questionable practice out there. Customers greeted by a large poster proclaiming '100 per cent British beef' can be forgiven for assuming the claim is being made for the entire menu, not simply the particular burger pictured.

Earlier this year, at a symposium on menu transparency organised by the Meat & Livestock Commission, Defra minister Lord Rooker said that the government is currently reluctant to extend planned legislation on meat origin labelling for retail into foodservice - mainly because it would be a very complex business.

However, as the pub trade knows only too well, the government's stance can switch from self-regulation to legislation very quickly. This is an area where pubs need to get their house in order if the trade hopes to avoid yet another set of complex regulations to deal with.