UK one ‘discarded ham sandwich’ away from food security disaster, Commons hears

The UK is “one carelessly discarded ham sandwich away from disaster”, with illegally imported meats threatening food security, the Commons has heard.

Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, has warned that illegal meat smuggling could be the “biggest threat to food security we have had for a long time”.

Mr Carmichael said there was a “real concern” that pork products were being imported from places impacted by African swine fever (ASF), which could be the “death knell” for the British pork industry.

ASF is a highly contagious fatal disease impacting pigs, which can spread through infected meat, and survive for a long time even once cooked or frozen.

Addressing the Commons, the Liberal Democrat MP said: “Meat smuggling was described to our committee as the biggest threat to food security we have had for a long time.

“We do not know how these animals were reared and slaughtered, or how the meat has been handled or stored.

“It carries increased risks of viruses, bacteria and parasites that can make people sick, and falls far below the strict standards we require of British producers.”

The speech comes following the publication of a report on “Britain’s illegal meat crisis” by the committee.

“One of the witnesses said that we were just one carelessly discarded ham sandwich away from disaster, which was absolutely right,” he said.

Mr Carmichael said they had heard that the cost-of-living crisis is fuelling the market for cheap, illegally imported meat, as is demand for “culturally preferred products”, such as pork from Eastern Europe.

Animal diseases can come with considerable cost.

In 2001, six million animals were slaughtered across the UK following the foot and mouth outbreak, costing the economy the equivalent of £13.8 billion.

A single confirmed case of foot and mouth in Germany this year is estimated to have cost its economy one billion euros (around £865 million).

Last year, 235 tonnes of illegal animal products were seized at the UK border, which Mr Carmichael warned could be “just the tip of the iceberg”.

As part of evidence gathering, the committee visited Dover, where Mr Carmichael said the facilities health workers were being required to work in were “entirely unsuitable”.

Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, who is also on the committee, said it was obvious that the Dover Port Health Authority was not able to do as much as it would like.

She questioned why inspections continued at Dover, while the nearby Bastion Point, which is maintained by the Government but unused, could be used instead.