Rose Prince - The Savvy Shopper

Nearly a million British cattle will return to the food chain over the next two years, pushing up the percentage of beef available in shops so we can move towards eradicating the need for imported beef, specifically the forequarter beef used in cheaper burgers. This will obviously boost the incomes of British livestock farmers.

Problems with imported meat include lack of traceability and lower safety standards. Imported meat has been found to contain spinal cord, and SRM banned throughout Europe. Some beef is imported from South America, Africa and EU countries. Shops do not like to advertise this fact so it tends to find its way into the catering trade or ready meals. There are always welfare and feed issues with imported meat; most countries do not have our stricter rules on welfare and especially feed. Incidentally, beef sold by breed name can be a product of another country. Dutch Aberdeen Angus is frequently sold in the UK and is often the ‘Aberdeen Angus’ steak on menus.

No – and the industry is very protective of this information. Cross breeding results in a high ratio of meat to bone, quickly – hence its appeal after the OTM rule was introduced, which saw slower-growing native breeds being slaughtered before reaching their full potential. Also, be aware that beef called ‘Scottish’ may be native-Continental cross. This is not so much a taste issue (the beef can be delicious if kindly reared, well fed and hung for the correct time) but it is a breed heritage and especially a welfare problem. The cross breeding of Continental cattle such as Limousin and Charentais with Aberdeen Angus is rife but the resulting meat can be called Aberdeen Angus. I have visited farms in Scotland where this practice takes place, where farmers have complained to me that mixing the breeds can cause the calves to be too big for the native-bred mothers and they can have trouble giving birth. Lastly, in my view, the larger-grained meat of fast-growing native–Continental crossbreeds is ill suited to British cooking, especially as roasting joints, and far better, I’m afraid to say, for the Continental veal market. Connoisseurs of beef prefer the small joints of tight-grained native beef. Given the choice, I would go for pure-bred native beef.

Labels on beef sold in supermarkets must comply with the new labelling regulations, and butchers must display somewhere in the shop notices showing the origin of their beef. The labels or notices should show the name of the country or countries in which the animal was born, reared, slaughtered and cut. Beef labelled ‘British’ must come from animals born, reared and slaughtered entirely within the UK. Supermarket labels rarely carry more information; suppliers must seek approval for additional information on labels, such as ‘grass fed’, ‘Farm Assured’, or astonishingly, ‘English’.

• Ask about breed– beef from native breeds has tight-grained flesh best suited to roasting; native breeds include pedigree Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, South Devon, Welsh Black, Lincoln Red, Longhorn, Belted Galloway, Highland and White Park.

• Ask about feed– meat from animals grown slowly on a mainly grass/silage diet with some cereal in winter has the most flavour. Non-organically reared animals can be fed GM cereals in the UK.

• Ask about welfare– stress caused by long journeys to abattoirs, and thereafter overcrowded pens (lairage), and noise has been proved to change PH levels in meat, affecting tenderness and flavour.

• Ask about hanging– a side or quarter of beef should be hung for between three and five weeks, uncovered, at a temperature of 2-3°C.

The Co-opsources its beef from the UK and Ireland and 95 per cent of the animals are reared outdoors, feeding on natural pasture, silage and some concentrates, as required. Although the Co-op operates a strictly non-GM policy, it states that these concentrates may contain soya that is not specified as non-GM. Journey time to the abattoir is approximately six hours.

Sainsburysells a range of organic beef and well-hung conventional beef. It cannot guarantee the latter is not given GM feed.

Marks & Spencersources its beef from England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Animals are fed a forage-based diet with at least one season grazing at grass and no GM feed. The journey to the abattoir takes no longer than four hours.

Budgens’beef is reared in England. The cattle are fed on grass, silage and meal, which, although free from fishmeal and growth promoters, may contain some GM substances. The abattoir is less than 100 miles away.

Waitrosesources all its beef in the UK. The mixed breed animals are reared 95 per cent of the time outdoors on a GM-free diet that is 75 per cent forage based (grass, silage), the rest wheat, barley and soya. Journey times to slaughterhouse average nearly four hours.

Tescobeef is sourced from the UK, Ireland, Argentina and Brazil (country of origin is always labelled, so look for the small print; even if the label says Aberdeen Angus, the country of origin could be food-mile-heavy South America). The cattle are fed a forage-based diet with other cereals (‘not generally soya bean’). Tesco did not state whether the feed was GM free.

We taste-tested beef from the farms below and, without exception, the meat was outstanding: tight grained, full flavoured and beautifully tender. Salt was never an option. Meat from these farms is produced from slowly grown cattle fed a natural, predominantly grass diet, then killed locally and traditionally matured. All the farms offer home delivery.

Barkers, Mid Torrie Farm, Callander, Perthshire FK17 8JLTel: 01877 330203www.barkershighlandbeef.co.uk

Breed: Highland

Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm, Mill Lane, Baylham,Needham Market, Suffolk IP6 8LGTel: 01473 830264www.baylham-house-farm.co.uk

Breed: White Park

Blackface.co.uk, Weatherall Foods Ltd, Crochmore House,Irongray, Dumfries DG2 9SFTel: 01387 730326www.blackface.co.uk

Breed: Scottish Galloway (now aged up to four years)

Brown Cow Organics, Perridge Farm, Pilton, Shepton Mallet,Somerset BA4 4EWTel: 01749 890298www.browncoworganics.co.uk

Breed: Guernsey (beef animals are from this family farm’s dairy herd)

Donald Russell Direct, Harlaw Road, Inverurie,Aberdeenshire AB51 4FRTel: 01467 629666www.donaldrusselldirect.com

Experts in butchery (Continental and British cuts) and hanging meat.

Edwards of Conwy, 18 High Street, Conwy,North Wales LL32 8DETel: 01492 592443www.edwardsofconwy.co.uk

Breed: Welsh Black

Gellynen Lodge, Cwmbach Llechrhyd, Builth Wells,Powys LD2 3RPTel: 01982 551242

Breed: Welsh Black

Gilchesters Organic Farm, Hawkwell,Northumberland NE18 0QLTel: 01661 886119www.gilchesters.com

Breed: White Galloway (organic)

Hereford Prime Direct, Mains of Airies Farm, Stranraer,Wigtownshire DG9 0RDTel: 01776 853516www.herefordprimedirect.co.uk

Breed: Hereford

Long Ghyll Farms, Brock Close, Bleasdale, Preston,Lancashire PR3 1UZTel: 01995 61799www.farmhousedirect.com