Defrosting rule changes threaten chilled poultry
£1bn worth of chilled food could be hit by European Commission (EC) proposals to ban the sale of chilled poultry products containing defrosted meat.
There is confusion over whether the changes to the poultry meat marketing regulations apply purely to poultry products incorporating raw meat or also to those using cooked meat. The British Poultry Council (BPC) believes the proposal refers just to raw items, whereas the Chilled Food Association (CFA) fears it could embrace cooked items.CFA secretary general Kaarin Goodburn said: “Unless we and others have missed something I can’t see any exclusion for cooked poultry meat products in the proposal as it refers to ‘poultry meat preparations and products’ and ‘poultry offal preparations and products’
“Including ‘products’ makes a very large difference to the scope indeed - an estimated £1bn of chilled prepared food in the UK may be impacted.” The cost per supplier could be as much as £15M, she said.
The BPC said the EC wanted to change the law to prevent consumers being misled into thinking defrosted, raw poultry meat was fresh.
Either way, the plans could see everything from ready meals and soups to sandwiches and items prepared for cooking scrapped or transferred to freezer cabinets. The CFA said its members alone claimed that 20,000t worth of product per year was threatened. “We want the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the EC to do an impact assessment,” said Goodburn.
Processors affected would be major suppliers of products containing defrosted poultry meat from sources such as turkeys, chickens, ducks or game birds. Manufacturers usually flag up defrosted meat on packs. Products supplied to major foodservice customers such as McDonald’s or KFC would also be hit, according to Goodburn.
The industry mainly follows a steady, all-year round production schedule, freezing meat in times of low demand for use in peak periods, such as Christmas or the barbecue season, and importing extra where needed. However, the proposals could dramatically alter this pattern.
Even if the BPC’s conservative understanding of the situation is right, it could still cost millions of pounds to overhaul the food chain. “There are very serious implications for supply of certain products at times when the consumer most demands them,” said BPC chief executive Peter Bradnock. “The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has done costings, helped by suppliers and I believe the overall figure is £100M.
“We and the BRC are asking the British government not to support the proposal, but to seek an alternative way of ensuring the Commission’s concerns are met,” said Bradnock. He suggested highlighting the presence of defrosted meat more prominently, possibly using front of pack labelling.
An additional worry is that most EU member states have a less developed chilled food industry than the UK and Ireland and so will be unsympathetic to their resistance to the proposals. DEFRA and trade representatives are meeting with EC officials in Brussels this month to debate the issue.
