Massive illegal meat imports worry British pig sector to death

The British National Pig Association (NPA) has urged the government to act “comprehensively and without delay on the devastating findings of an MP-led inquiry into the virtually unrestricted flow of illegal meat imports into the UK.”

A parliamentary report highlighted that illicit imports carry a high risk of spreading devastating animal diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and African Swine Fever (ASF), both of which can travel across borders in contaminated meat and dairy products.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee of the House of Commons in UK’s parliament concluded that “alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported into Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale.”

During an earlier visit of the committee to the port of Dover, one worker told they had “found an entire pig stuffed inside a suitcase; its legs cut off badly so that it could fit inside.”

According to the report, there is no effective deterrent to meat smuggling. “Public awareness of animal disease risks is low, as is awareness of the rules about what food you can bring into the country for personal use or as a gift.” The committee therefore asked the department to deliver a plan to immediately start fining and prosecuting repeat offenders.

Chairman Alistair Carmichael added: “Every day, vans laden with undeclared, unhygienic and unrefrigerated meat are rolling through our ports for distribution and sale in Britain. The authorities tasked with tackling this wave of illegal produce find themselves without the necessary leadership, resources and intelligence to do so. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Britain is sleepwalking through its biggest food safety crisis since the horse meat scandal.’’

NPA’s CEO Lizzie Wilson said: “This is a detailed report that lays bare the government’s inadequate steps to protect UK livestock from potentially devastating notifiable diseases like African swine fever and foot and mouth disease. Government will be complicit in the event of a notifiable disease outbreak if they have not stopped the illegal meat, that they are entirely aware of, from coming into this country. There is nowhere left to hide, now. It must step up.”

Tags: UK, African Swine Fever, Meat, imports, dairy products, foot and mouth disease, British National Pig Association