Hidden US Beef on UK Menus? Trade Deal Fuels Farmer and Consumer Worries

A stark warning has been issued that US beef imported under the newly agreed trade deal could be served in UK restaurants, potentially in London and across the country, without diners being explicitly informed of its origin. This revelation from a leading farming figure is adding to concerns already voiced by British farmers and consumers about the implications of the agreement.

The trade deal permits 13,000 tonnes of US beef to enter the UK, mirroring the quantity of British beef eligible for export to the United States. While Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, believes major supermarkets are unlikely to deviate from their existing British beef suppliers for US imports, he voiced significant concern about the foodservice sector.

"What remains to be seen is where this product ends up...does it end up on retail shelves, I suspect probably not, it may end up in food service where its visibility is harder to see," Mr. Shand told Times Radio. He emphasized that while meat bought at wholesalers is clearly labelled, the same transparency is not guaranteed in restaurants. "If you go into a restaurant you don’t see the label but you are entitled to ask...there is a possibility that a lot of it will end up in food service...you are entitled to know what you are eating and where it comes from...and there is an obligation to deliver that information."

British farmers are also deeply concerned about maintaining the UK's high production, welfare, and health standards. Mr. Shand stressed that farmers would be "watching very closely" to ensure that US beef imports are free from growth hormones, which are banned in the UK. Ian McCubbine, a beef farmer in Surrey, urged the government to be "stringent" about upholding these standards, expressing worries about the quality and production methods in large-scale US feedlots. "A Texas feed lock that is 90 miles long, how do we know what they are putting in...we just don’t know, that’s the worry," he told BBC Radio.

While farming chiefs have cautiously welcomed the new access to the US market for British beef and assurances from both Sir Keir Starmer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones that the UK's "red line" on food standards, including the ban on hormone-injected beef and chlorinated chicken, remains in place, concerns persist.

Mr. Shand acknowledged that the 13,000-tonne import quota is not a "huge amount" compared to the UK's overall beef imports, but the lack of mandatory clear labelling in restaurants could leave consumers unaware of the origin and potentially differing standards of the beef they are consuming. This lack of transparency raises questions about consumer choice and the potential for undercutting British farmers who adhere to stricter regulations.

The trade deal also includes reduced US import taxes on British cars and the axing of tariffs on steel, while the blanket 10% tariff imposed by the US on UK imports remains.