Kebab firm fined £500k for selling lamb that was mostly skin and fat

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Kebab firm fined £500k for selling lamb that was mostly skin and fat48 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleAntonia MatthewsBBC WalesMedia WalesPanayiotis Vasilis Michael, left, and Djemal Enver, right, are directors of Kismet Kebabs LtdA company which makes kebabs for takeaways and restaurants has been fined £500,000 for selling "lamb" that was "mostly skin and fat". Swansea Crown Court heard the lamb products of Kismet Kebabs Ltd, based in Essex, contained little actual lamb, but a mix of fat, skin, assorted meats and mechanically reclaimed meat products. Kismet was also ordered to pay £259,298 in costs, with a judge saying the company had engaged in "considerable dishonesty" over a prolonged period of time.

Lee Reynolds, prosecuting on behalf of Swansea Council, told the court the firm had "misled wholesalers, retailers and consumers". Media WalesThe court heard invoices showed products that "cannot be called meat as per the legal definition" were being used to produce kebabsReynolds said Kismet had manufactured and supplied kebabs to takeaways and restaurants with labels that indicated a specific quantity of specified meat, which the firm knew to be incorrect, thereby fraudulently misleading customers. "Much of what was being described as lamb was in fact skin and fat," he said.

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"The company routinely and knowingly purchased goat, lamb fat, skin, mutton, and ovine , and once processed through their factory sold it as lamb. "In addition, other products were sold as specific meat products when the item contained meat of a different species," he added. The court heard in late 2020 and early 2021 Swansea Council's trading standards team took part in a regional sampling exercise to check the meat species and descriptions applied to kebab meat at local kebab houses and restaurants.

Media WalesA judge said the firm had engaged in "considerable dishonesty" over a prolonged periodA number of samples were taken across the city and county, with results indicating kebabs from Kismet did not match the declared meat content on product labels. Lab tests of further samples from wholesalers found meat content "differed significantly" from what was on the labels. The council then made enquiries with the National Food Crime Unit and Food Standards Agency.

Reynolds said it emerged Essex council had had a "long history" of involvement with Kismet via what is known as a Primary Authority Partnership. As part of its dealings with the firm, the local authority had been receiving complaints from councils around England about issues relating to labelling and meat content. In one example a lamb doner which claimed to contain 87% lamb was found to contain only 51% meat and 40% fat.

The court heard the council terminated its agreement with Kismet due to a "lack of operation" and "serious labelling and potential public health issues" found in a factory audit.

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