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Meat: Smuggling

Asked by Sir John HayesConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 10 November 2025UIN 86997

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what quantity of illegal meat was seized from (a) shops and (b) restaurants in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not hold United Kingdom-wide local authority seizure data centrally. This data is held by individual local authorities.

Where a non-compliant product, for example illegal meat, is identified in-land, the FSA works closely with local authority partners. These partners are responsible for this aspect of enforcement and for the removal of non-compliant products from potential sale in the UK market. This work is supported by the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit, in conjunction with wider FSA teams.

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