Trading standards officers test lamb kebabs in 20 restaurants... and found that NONE contained just lamb
· All kebabs contained a mixture of pork, beef or poultry
· Only three lamb curries tested had just lamb
· Four curries contained none at all
·
Muslims may be unwittingly eating pork
· One kebab contained almost 20 times the safe levels of food colouring
By Chris Hanlon - 30 April 2012
Beware the next time you order a lamb kebab - as consumer watchdogs have discovered that every one they tested contained a concoction of other meats.
An investigation by trading standards officers has revealed that none of 20 lamb kebabs tested contained just lamb - while four lamb curries out of 19 did not contain any lamb at all.
Lamb is the most expensive meat consumers regularly buy, followed by beef and pork, with chicken being the cheapest.
Trading standards officers wanted to check that consumers were getting what they expected - and paid for.
Yet incredibly, none of the 20 lamb kebabs sampled contained just lamb.
They all contained a mixture of lamb together with either pork, beef or poultry.
Trading standards officers say they understand that some restaurants may be knowingly using chicken in their lamb kebabs as it helps to ensure the meat sticks together around the skewer during cooking.
Of 19 lamb curries tested, only three contained just lamb. Again, most contained a mixture of lamb together with either beef or poultry. But four lamb curries didn't contain any lamb at all.
These were then tested to see what meat they actually contained and to
check for high levels of artificial colourings - which can affect people's health and trigger hyperactivity in children.
Although none of the curries were found to contain high levels of colourings,
70 per cent of the kebabs tested did.
One contained levels of artificial colouring that were 18 times higher than permitted, another was 13 times higher.
This may be due to human error in preparation of the marinades used by the restaurants and take-aways to give the kebab colour.
Officers from Warwickshire County Council trading standards visited 20 restaurants and takeaways, at random, in Stratford upon Avon, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton and Rugby and purchased 39 lamb curries and lamb kebabs.
Warwickshire County councillor Richard Hobbs, portfolio holder for community safety said: 'Consumers rely on accurate food descriptions. Some foods are not permitted to be eaten by some religions and cultures, whilst some people may wish to avoid some foods because of allergy concerns.
'Consumers should also have the confidence that if they are buying an expensive product such as lamb, that they are not getting chicken instead, a meat that is half the price.
'Warwickshire trading standards will now be contacting every restaurant and takeaway involved.
'Further investigations are to be carried out and advice will be provided to retailers and the wholesale trade.'
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