Shock supermarket burger, chicken and premixed cocktail drink tests by food agency

The Food Standards Agency revealed almost half of burgers and frozen chicken didn't have enough meat, and one in ten drinks were too low in alcohol

The Food Standards Agency has released a report which showed that more than 40 per cent of burgers and chicken tested were not compliant with food regulations. The shocking results revealed that in the case of chicken the issue was the amount of excess water being added.

For burgers the main problem was having less meat content than was promised on the packet and some also had higher fat content. It also found lower levels of alcohol than declared on the label were found in one in ten of the premixed cans of spirits /cocktails The Retail Surveillance Sampling programme is targeted by the FSA at areas of known or potential risk. The survey took place from July 2023 to January 2024 and sampled 1025 products in total, including those that may be found in a typical basket of food, along with a range of other products.

Food samples were bought from national supermarkets and smaller independent retailers, with some samples bought online. The samples were tested for undeclared allergens, contaminants, adulteration, inaccurate composition or incorrect labelling.

The survey found:

• There was a considerable increase in compliance for olive oil year on year 75% in 2022/23 to 87% (26 out of 30) 2023/24
• Food authenticity rates for samples tested were 97% compliant for the areas of authenticity tested
• There are no overall geographical hotspots for non-compliance

Because the survey targets products where we know there is a risk, or where there is a lack of information, the results are not representative of food safety in the UK. Instead, they help Local Authorities (LAs) choose where to target their resource, so they can protect consumers.

While most food tested as part of this targeted sampling programme was safe and authentic, the project highlighted some concerns to be investigated further with some meat products falling short. For frozen raw chicken 40% (16 out of 40) was non-compliant due to undeclared, or excess, added water and labelling issues

42% (10 out of 24) of frozen beef burgers were non-compliant, with eight samples having less meat content than declared, and 4 samples containing higher fat levels than stated.

In the wake of the bad results the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) has highlighted concerns to the industry and further tests are being planned ‘to make sure industry are vigilant’.

Professor Rick Mumford, Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor & Deputy Director of Science, Research and Evidence at the Food Standards Agency said: “The retail survey is part of the multiple layers of protection built-in to the food system to protect consumers, which includes our Food Standards Delivery Model in England and Northern Ireland. Together with the information from the retail survey, LAs can direct their resources towards the greatest areas of risk. Where any incident of non-compliance is found, referrals are made to the relevant LAs to investigate and take appropriate action.”