East Suffolk Council stop vehicle in Lowestoft and intercept suspected illegally imported meat
A quantity of suspected illegally imported meat was intercepted in a Suffolk town following a vehicle stop.
Food inspectors from East Suffolk Council helped find the meat which was in the back of a white van in Lowestoft.
The van had been travelling from Romania to Great Britain via the Port of Dover.
The discovery was made during a multi-agency spot check of vehicles on Friday February 3.
Food and Safety teams as well as teams from Suffolk Trading Standards investigated the van and found pork, eggs and other food which the occupants claimed was for personal consumption.
The van was also found to contain weighing scales and a refrigerator.
Although officers were prepared to use powers to seize the meat, the occupants of the vehicle voluntarily surrendered all of the products and they 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.
