[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21733514

A leading bacteriologist has said he believes the practice of substituting lamb with beef is widespread in Indian restaurants and takeaways in Scotland.

Professor Hugh Pennington was speaking after a report, published in the Sunday Mail, said low quality beef was passed off as lamb in one in three curries tested by the Food Standards Agency.

Prof Pennington said he had been aware of the issue for years.

He said it was potentially a bigger scandal than the use of horsemeat.

The Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee - which is part of the FSA - carried out 129 tests in Indian restaurants and takeaways north of the border.

It said cheap beef was passed off as lamb in 46 of those samples. In 33 of those, there was no lamb in the dishes, while the remaining 13 used some lamb and cheap cuts of beef.

The report, which was completed at the end of last year, did not identify the premises which had been surveyed.

It said: "The results from the survey confirm that a significant proportion of lamb-based curries offered for sale in Indian, and similar style, restaurants and takeaways were falsely described as they contained either no lamb, or a mixture of lamb and other meat.

"The sale of such curries contravenes the Food Safety Act and the Food Labelling Regulations.

"These results confirm that the misdescription of lamb-based meals among Indian and similar style catering premises is an ongoing issue."

Prof Pennington said the beef would not be dangerous if it was from a reputable source and was cooked properly.

But he added: "It raises questions, not just about fraud, but also other issues. How good are their practices in the kitchen, if they're defrauding customers - how safe are they in other aspects?"

I've heard of mutton dressed as lamb but never beef dressed as lamb .....