Warning over 300kg of ‘contaminated’ meat sold in UK stores that’s linked to highly contagious virus

A LARGE shipment of potentially contaminated meat has been seized by officials.

More than 300 kilograms of the illegal product has been linked to a highly contagious virus.

Westmister CouncilA 300kg package of ‘contaminated’ meat has been seized by the UK government[/caption]

Food safety chiefs confirmed the meat was smuggled into London where it was seized by Westminister City Council officers.

The suspect meat has been confirmed to contain banned Chinese pork.

Meat imported legally into the UK undergoes a series of stringent health checks to ensure it is safe.

Confiscated haul

The haul of smuggled items included vacuum-sealed chicken slices, marinated pork, and sliced beef.

This was all seized during routine visits to restaurants and stores in the China Town area of London.

The products were clearly labelled however, there was nothing on the packaging that could trace it back to a registered supplier in the UK, officers said. 

UK law states pork cannot also be imported from China due to the potential risk of African Swine Fever. 

While this is harmless to humans, the highly contagious virus can be fatal to pigs.

It has been recorded causing havoc to herds of pigs across the globe.

Cases of African swine fever have been recorded across Europe, Russia, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation. 

Government crackdown

The seizure comes as a damning Government report last month warned that “alarming amounts” of illegal meat were being smuggled into the country.

This report went on to say Britain was “sleepwalking into its biggest food safety crisis since the horsemeat scandal”.

Westminster City Council deputy leader and cabinet member for public protection Aicha Less spoke about the crackdown on illegally imported food.

“Millions of people visit Westminster to eat out, and our job as a local authority is to ensure that diners enjoy food that is safe,” she said.

“That means knowing the origin of imported food — you cannot have mystery meat showing up in restaurant kitchens with no real idea of where it has come from.”

She went on to say the confiscated meat “was clearly intended for food businesses including Westminster restaurants”.

“Animal swine fever, even in prepackaged food products, can prove contagious and we need to stop any possibility of it spreading,” the cabinet member continued.

Aicha confirmed the government’s environmental health teams will “continue to ensure people visiting restaurants in the West End can have a safe and enjoyable experience”.

In a separate seizure, officers, acting on a tip-off from the Food Standards Agency, confiscated 75 packets of flavoured dried noodles weighing over 18kg at a business. 

The noodles, which contained banned pork imported from China and listed pig bone and pork oil as ingredients, were seized, sealed, and sent for incineration.

More on food warnings

UK’s food labelling needs a complete overhaul to combat obesity crisis, according to a health coach.

And a warning over “contaminated tomatoes” that could be behind major salmonella outbreak as 30 people struck in the UK.

Plus, a “do not eat” warning as a major UK supermarket issues urgent recall over lethal health risk.

Sainsbury’s urgently recalled a toxic £4 item, warning shoppers “do not throw it away”.

Plus, the four foods that experts say should come with cigarette-style health warnings.

Packets of dried noodles have been confiscated after they were found to contain banned pork imported from ChinaWestmister Council

GettyAfrican swine flu can be deadly for pigs and other livestock (stock image)[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]