Not horsemeat but what else could be in your kebab?

Inspectors put the problem of misdescribing food under the microscope after the horsemeat scandal hit headlines.

In an exploratory exercise carried out by officers over the past few months, they say eight out of 10 descriptions were found to be wrong.

It was discovered that while many ‘lamb’ kebabs were mostly made from lamb, they also contained significant amounts of poultry, beef and even veal.

Now officers are warning consumers that if they buy a ‘lamb’ kebab or a ‘doner kebab’, the only meat in it should be lamb unless the menu description states otherwise.

But they say most of the identified problems were due to local sellers not understanding the rules rather than deliberating setting out to deceive the public.

For this reason the sellers were given a warning and a chance to put matters right before being re-visited. All corrected the descriptions.

A large proportion of sellers in West Sussex have now been visited and Trading Standards officers say they have worked with them to ensure that they understand the requirements and sell products which are correctly described.

County Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Christine Field, said: “We want to remind traders that misdescribing food is a serious matter. What goes on sale for the public to eat has to be what has been described.”

Anyone who has any concerns should get in touch with our Trading Standards officers through Citizens Advice on 08454 040506 or the West Sussex County Council website.