Retailers must pay more for beef, association says
Undervalued discount beef products are linked to the 'adulteration of processed products with cheaper meat' the National Beef Association have said.
The association blamed the recent disclosures on retailers undervaluing its beef products.
"Beef is expensive to produce and expensive to process but most mainstream supermarkets discount beef and beef products so heavily that those who supply them face a never ending struggle to cover their costs" said Oisin Murnion, chairman of the association.
Recent events show that guaranteed origin, and full product integrity have emerged as the key to higher earnings.
"The horsemeat scandal is a classic example of what happens when supermarket suppliers are squeezed in cost terms and consumers are encouraged to believe that beef, which they like and love to buy, is just as cheap as chicken or other less expensive meats."
Revelations concerning horse meat in beefburgers sold in UK and Irish supermarkets highlighted concerns about meat traceability.
"If consumers are encouraged to believe they can buy a frozen beef burger for less than ten pence when prime cattle are selling for an average £1,200 apiece, and processors have to cover all the cost of reducing these animals down to the product in an individual retail pack, then no one can be surprised if short cuts are sometimes taken."
There is concern by beef producers that underselling of their products by supermarkets could result in the usage of cheaper or imported substitutes to reduce their costs.
They have warned retailers that a 'scandal will hit the industry' if consumers are misled by retailers over cheaper beef.
"Most consumers know that beef costs more than chicken, or horsemeat for that matter, and many accept that in quality and provenance terms they will only get what they pay for."
"Supermarkets are not blameless victims of the horsemeat scandal because the core of the problem is they demand to be supplied at prices that are quite simply unrealistic," Murnion added.
