Kebab houses selling other meats as lamb

As some beef burgers have been revealed to contain up to 29 per cent horse meat, kebabs have come under the microscope of Trading Standards officials.

In initial tests, eight out of ten shops in West Sussex were selling doner meat which was mixed with that of other animals.

Officers said offending shops were mainly in the county’s larger towns.

In East Sussex, the results from meat which has been tested are still being collated, but early signs already show chicken meat in kebabs described as lamb. 

Rob Scovell, the lead officer in West Sussex, said: “If you say lamb kebab it has to be lamb. Doner kebab is also regarded to mean lamb. 

“What we found when we visited a large proportion of the kebab shops around the county was more than trace amounts of other meats.”

West Sussex’s trading standards team said most of the problems were due to sellers not understanding the rules rather than deliberately setting out to deceive the public. 

Mr Sovell said: “We found that those who produce meat in-house changed from say beef to chicken, and there would be a bit in the middle where the two meats mixed together. 

“But predominantly it was people buying meat which was mainly lamb but had a percentage of other meat too.

“It was on the label but the sellers didn’t read it, or change their menus.

“It is nothing like 50 per cent horse meat, it was a lack of understanding for the most part.”

He said about a quarter of the 38 outlets were selling lamb mixed with other meats. 

All of the sellers corrected the problems. East Sussex County Council is testing meat from 24 kebab outlets.

West Sussex County Council’s cabinet member for public protection, Christine Field, said: “We want to remind traders that misdescribing food is a serious matter. 

“What goes on sale for the public to eat has to be what has been described.”

Anyone who has any concerns should get in touch with Trading Standards officers through Citizens Advice on 08454 040506 or www.westsussex.gov.uk.