UK supermarkets have committed to sourcing meat from British suppliers, following uproar from consumers over the appearance of Polish beef in stores.

Last week it was confirmed that some supermarkets had used imported Polish beef to fill the supply gap caused by panic buying, rather than sourcing extra from the domestic meat chain.

Farmers and shoppers took to the internet to voice their outrage and accuse supermarkets of not doing more to support their own farmers.

The surge in demand for mince and low value cuts has thrown off the meat chain's usual carcase balance. Normally, high value cuts would bolster the price received by producers, but these cuts aren’t finding a market at the current time, which has led to falling beef prices in the UK.

The SF was told that, to fill temporarily empty supermarket chiller shelves, retailers may have diverted imported shipments that were originally destined for processing.

The UK’s largest meat processor ABP has defended its decision to source Polish beef during the start of the crisis, saying that its own processing capacity had been unable to meet the 'unprecedented' surge in demand.

“ABP temporarily supplemented its existing supply chain with European beef, including Poland," said a company spokesman. "This product is produced to the same exacting traceability and quality standards as all ABP products. This was a temporary measure related to one product which was clearly labelled and was aimed to meet the surge in demand at that time.”

NFU Scotland has since written to Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburys, Aldi, Lidl, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, praising the vital role that retailers have played in feeding the nation this past month, but urging them to ensure that home produce finds a route to shop shelves.

President Andrew McCornick said: “Scotland’s farmers and crofters, producing the finest red meat in the world, were justifiably angered and frustrated at the appearance of Polish beef on some supermarket shelves at the start of this crisis.

“NFUS immediately contacted the two retailers involved and received assurances that this was nothing more than a ‘fill gap’ to tide them over during the panic buying spree and it was not something they were intending to repeat. We will hold them to account on that,” he promised.

“All major retailers have been written to in the last 24 hours reminding them that they are uniquely placed, through a clear commitment to domestic sourcing, to give farmers and growers the confidence to continue producing. We need to see Scottish and British on the shelves and not find imported produce, previously destined for the food service sector, diverted onto shop shelves,” he urged.

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