NFU seeks to fend off frozen imports

The NFU is seeking clarification on the definitions within the poultrymeat marketing regulations to prevent imported frozen poultrymeat products from being sold as “chilled”, alongside fresh poultry in supermarkets.

New EU rules were introduced in May to stop previously-frozen poultrymeat preparations, from places like Brazil, being de-frosted and sold alongside chilled UK meat.

But some supermarkets and international food manufacturers are now calling for meat which is only surface cooked to be classed as a “product”. This would once again allow defrosted imports to be sold as chilled, NFU chief poultry adviser Robert Newbery told the inaugural meeting of the Midlands NFU poultry discussion group.

“There’s been a strong lobby from some elements of the retail sector, and also countries importing into the EU, but we are fighting back and trying to get a consensus from other member states on what we can call a poultry product,” he told the meeting.

Mr Newbery explained that, until May this year, it was possible to sell poultrymeat items within the retail chiller cabinet that may have been imported frozen, as long as they met the definition of a “poultry preparation”. This could include a simple step, such as coating the meat with a glaze.

The EU Commission had then introduced new measures that ensured that chilled “preparations” could not have been previously frozen. But some retailers and manufacturers were trying to circumvent this.

“We are fighting very hard in Brussels and with DEFRA that, for something to be termed a product, it has to be cooked all the way through, and not just on the outside. Otherwise it just opens up the potential for companies in Brazil, Thailand and elsewhere to create these dishes, freeze them and, once they are here, defrost them. Then they are in the chiller cabinet next to the other fresh meats.”