Pubs pressed to push pork provenance
Pubs are being urged to state the country of origin of all pork dishes and products on menus.
The call comes in the wake of the withdrawal of Irish pork after some pigs were found to have eaten feed contaminated with dioxins. Tony Goodger, BPEX foodservice manager, said pubs now need to be transparent about where meat used in dishes come from.
Goodger said: "While the Food Standards Agency (FSA) acknowledges that any potential risk to consumers is very low, pubs will want to take all steps possible to reassure their customers that they can continue to choose the pork and pork products available on menus with confidence."
If pubs are unsure, BPEX, which promotes the British pork industry, said licensees should insist their suppliers provide detailed information on the country of origin of their pork and pork products.
Goodger added: "They should check with their suppliers as to the true origin of pork, and especially of pork products such as bacon and sausages.
"That's because any further processing such as curing of bacon or processing shoulder meat into sausages qualifies as 'significant change' enabling it to be labelled as 'produced in Britain' when in fact the meat may have originated from another country."
- It has emerged that some Irish cattle have also been fed with the contaminated feed. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland said it would not order a recall of beef product, unlike pork, because the levels of dioxins are much lower in beef. Howver the FSA said that while it conducts its own tests, as a precaution, stock and carcasses from affected Irish and Northern Irish herds is not being allowed to enter the UK food chain.
