Will supermarkets suffer from the horse meat scandal?
As millions of supermarket burgers are destroyed, we ask if these revelations mean we'll start shopping for our meat elsewhere.
The ‘burgergate’ scandal, following the revelation that horse meat and DNA and pig DNA was found in frozen burger products, continues to rumble on as supermarkets race to limit the fallout.
As well as withdrawing its frozen burger products from sale, Tesco took out full-page advertisements in national newspapers on Thursday (pictured above) to say how sorry it was. “We and our supplier have let you down and we apologise,” it says. It continues: “We will find out exactly what happened and, when we do, we’ll come back and tell you. And we will work harder than ever with our suppliers to make sure this never happens again.”
And Asda, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s followed Tesco and Iceland’s lead in withdrawing burger products made by the suppliers at the heart of the controversy.
But is the damage already done? Could this mark a watershed moment in our relationship with the big supermarkets?
It's happened before...
Global food prices continue to rise but the big supermarkets continue to compete aggressively for our custom, knowing we might switch if somewhere's cheaper. That, in turn, puts pressure on suppliers to produce more for less. Can we really be surprised to learn that this may have caused corners to be cut or cheaper substitutes to be used?
This isn't the first time this has happened either. In 2003, horse meat was found in salami samples in Northern England. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Supermarket sweep?
Lovefood editor Andrew Webb took part in a debate on BBC Radio Cumbria this week (you can hear him here on iPlayer from around 44:00), where some listeners said that the burger story was making them think twice about buying meat from supermarkets.
One said: "All the more reason to support your local butcher. Very little packaging, you know exactly what you're getting and where it comes from." Another caller added: "I don't trust supermarkets."
But can many of us afford to shun supermarkets? We broached the subject on our Facebook page, where Sally Clark wrote: "I'd love to say yes but I can't afford to use my local butcher!"
The supermarket shunners
Ian and Becksie Pugh are writing a blog, ayearwithoutsupermarkets.com, about their attempts to avoid supermarkets for a year and shop elsewhere. They told us: "Our experiment has shown us that it is possible to eat locally on a budget. There are many cheaper cuts of meat available from butchers and we have found it is possible to eat good food for less than we used to spend in the supermarket."
An expert view
Julia Glotz, fresh foods editor at retail bible The Grocer, feels it will be hard to tell if this scandal has made an immediate difference to our shopping habits. She told us: "It's very early days to gauge the long term impact – not least because investigations into the source of the contamination are still ongoing. Regardless of what the investigations will show, though, we can expect consumers to ask far more detailed questions about exactly how retailers and manufacturers ensure what does – and doesn't – go into their food."
What is certain is that this story won't be quickly forgotten.
Will you stop buying meat from supermarkets? Have we brought this on ourselves by demanding cheaper food? Should we have to question what goes into our food? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.
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