The West Country's meat industry is hoping it can capitalise on the boost in trade that's followed the recent scandal over horsemeat in processed food.
Butchers report seeing more customers and producers say it now gives them a real chance to promote themselves.
Shoppers tell ITV NEWS West Country how their buying habits have changed following the horse meat scandal
The West Country's meat industry is hoping it can capitalise on the boost in trade that's followed the recent scandal over horsemeat in processed food.
Butchers report seeing more customers. Tim Potter from Wellington in Somerset says people trust their local butcher more than the supermarkets.
In light of the horsemeat scandal, butchers in the West Country are seeing a rise in local trade with people increasingly reluctant to buy ready-cooked meat from supermarkets. David Woodland reports.
Richard Lander School in Truro, Cornwall, has temporarily removed beef products, including Cornish pasties, from the menu as the horse meat scandal worsens. Eden Food Services, the company that supplies the school with meals, says it too is taking precautions:
– Eden Food ServicesWe are extremely confident that no contamination has occurred in any of our beef products as a result of robust due diligence processes we have in place with our suppliers. However, as an added precaution we are removing a small number of beef products from sale until we have received the satisfactory guarantees from our suppliers. ... We are taking the current concerns very seriously, but we are completely satisfied that every step has been taken to ensure the integrity of our food chain.
Richard Lander School in Truro, Cornwall, has temporarily removed beef products, including Cornish pasties, from the menu as the horse meat scandal worsens. Eden Food Services, the company that supplies the school with meals, say they are confident no contamination has occurred.
Butchers in the West Country are seeing a rise in local trade after people are turning away from ready-cooked meat from supermarkets. It follows yesterday's findings that horsemeat from a Somerset abattoir has been found to contain traces of the potentially harmful painkiller Bute.
One butcher in Exeter says his business has boomed by a third. Our Somerset Corespondent David Woodland will have more on this story on ITV West Country News at 6pm.
Full statement from slaughterers L J Potter, who use the Taunton abattoir where traces of the horse painkiller "bute" were found in meat
Read the full storyDame Sally Davies says that there is nothing to suggest a safety risk to humans who have eaten horse meat containing bute, but acknowledges that the chemical does present a minor health risk. She says it is right that bute is banned from the UK food chain. Her full statement can be found here.
Horse meat containing the chemical bute may have entered the French food chain. It has been traced to a Taunton slaughterhouse.
Read the full story
