Tesco sells pork chops mislabelled as British-reared

Tesco, a UK-based retailer, has reportedly sold pork chops mislabelled as British, which are likely to have originated from Holland, Netherlands.

The problem was identified by a BBC investigation for Radio 4’s You & Yours and Farming Today programmes, where a reporter bought two pork chops packages, featuring the Red Tractor logo, from a Tesco store in Salford.

The samples were tested at a laboratory in Germany, as part of a joint exercise with the British Pig Executive (BPEX), which promotes UK pork farming.

The investigation team used Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis technique to identify the origin of the meat based on its composition.

Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis is a technique that compares meat to a database, which comprises samples taken from key parts of the country.

Tests revealed that there was a less than 1% chance the two pork chops originated from a British farm, and might have come from the Netherlands.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We are extremely disappointed to discover a pork loin product probably came from a Dutch farm, not a British farm."

"When we specify that we want British pork, we expect to be supplied with British pork," the spokeswoman added.

"We have spoken with our supplier to make clear that this mistake is unacceptable."

The implicated pork was supplied to Tesco by Cranswick Country Foods, which in turn purchased the meat from Wolverhampton-based firm FA Gill.

Cranswick stated that it had reviewed its systems and informed its customers they could be confident its products were correctly labelled.

FA Gill said that it is one of a number of pork suppliers to Cranswick that packs for Tesco, adding: "FA Gill can categorically deny that the pork came from their supply as they do not deal with Dutch meat."

"We correctly label the products we sell to our customers and we have the documentation to prove this," the company added.

Commenting on the incident, Nick Martin, Northern Europe SVP of UK-based private label software firm Trace One, said the fact that Tesco has laid the blame with its supplier for the mislabelling of Dutch pork as British, shows that it is more crucial than ever that retailers and suppliers communicate transparently and that accountability is introduced at every stage of the process.

"There are innumerable opportunities for mistakes to occur across the supply-chain and attention is more heightened than ever following the horsemeat crisis."

"Retailers and suppliers need to ensure that they are safeguarding their reputation and ensure that both consumer confidence in their products and also their working relationships with each other are protected."