East Suffolk Council
Imported food products surrendered following vehicle spot check
Food inspectors from East Suffolk Council helped intercept a quantity of suspected illegally imported meat following a vehicle stop in Lowestoft.
The meat was discovered, along with a quantity of eggs, in the back of a white van travelling from Romania into Great Britain, via the Port of Dover.
The discovery was made during a multi-agency spot check of vehicles, in Lowestoft, on Friday 3 February.
East Suffolk Council’s Food and Safety team investigated the contents of the vehicle following a request for assistance from Suffolk County Council Trading Standards colleagues.
The van was found to contain mainly pork, eggs and other food, which the occupants of the vehicle claimed was for personal consumption. It was also found to contain weighing scales and a refrigerator.
Although East Suffolk’s officers were prepared to use powers to seize the meat, the occupants of the vehicle agreed to voluntarily surrender all of the products that were taken to an incineration plant for safe destruction.
Cllr Mary Rudd, East Suffolk Council cabinet member for Community Health, said:
“Since September, strict controls restricting the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain to help safeguard Britain’s pigs from the threat of African swine fever.
"This was great work by all involved to take this imported food out of circulation and remove any possible risks to animal and human health.”
Cllr Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for Public Health and Public Protection, said:
"Food crime and fraud can take many forms, affecting food quality, authenticity and, most importantly, safety. In addition to posing a danger to public health, food crime undermines legitimate businesses and the food industry's reputation.
“I applaud the work of East Suffolk Environmental Health and Suffolk Trading Standards in stopping these illegal and potentially harmful products, with the incident serving as a reminder of the threat of an outbreak of deadly African swine fever breaching the UK's shores if care is not taken to stop this.”
It is against the law to bring pork or pork products weighing over two kilograms into Great Britain unless they are produced to the EU's commercial standards.
For more information on food safety, including regulations and guidance, visit our food safety page.