Buying meat for a kitchen in the UK

Many restaurants, pubs and cafés buy their meat by the case from a supplier who delivers. Behind each delivery sits a chain of approved premises. A buyer who knows how that chain works can ask a supplier better questions.

How meat reaches the kitchen

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) approves slaughterhouses, cutting plants and wholesale meat markets. Local councils approve cold stores, and the premises that make mince, meat preparations or meat products. In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland has a similar role.

The FSA says a business that needs approval cannot start trading until it has one. Trading without approval is an offence.

Under food hygiene law, a slaughterhouse may cut a carcase into halves or quarters. It may cut a half into no more than three wholesale cuts. Any further cutting and boning takes place in a cutting plant.

The oval mark on the label

At the slaughterhouse, the FSA applies a health mark to the carcase. Further along the chain, the business that cuts or packs the meat puts an identification mark on its wrapping or label. That mark shows the meat came from an approved premises.

In Great Britain the mark is an oval. It carries "UK", "GB" or "United Kingdom", and the approval number of the premises.

What the labels tell you

The Rural Payments Agency runs the beef labelling rules. They apply to anyone selling or supplying fresh or frozen beef or veal, including suppliers to hotels, restaurants and other caterers.

A beef label carries a reference number that links the meat to its animal or group of animals. It names the country where the animal was born, where it was raised, where it was slaughtered and where it was cut. It gives the approval numbers of the slaughterhouse and the cutting plant. When all of that happened in one country, the label may simply say "Origin" and name it.

Pre-packed pork, lamb, goat and poultry carry the country where the animal was reared and the country where it was slaughtered. Every pack carries a batch code too.

Carcase grades

In England and Wales, an abattoir that slaughters 150 or more cattle aged 8 months or over a week registers with the Beef Carcase Classification scheme. A licensed classifier then grades each carcase within an hour of slaughter.

The classifier judges its shape and flesh cover on a scale of S, E, U, R, O and P, running from superior to poor. Fat cover is graded from 1, low, to 5, very high.

Keeping it cold

Under food hygiene law, beef, pork, lamb and goat meat is chilled to 7°C or below after slaughter. Offal is chilled to 3°C or below. The meat stays at that temperature in storage and during transport. Poultry meat is kept at 4°C or below before and during transport.

Records for each delivery

The FSA asks every food business to know who supplied its food. A business that sells on to other businesses must also know who it supplied. The FSA calls this "one step back" and "one step forward".

The FSA says businesses should keep records of each supplier, the product, the quantity, the delivery date and the batch code where there is one.

Questions to ask a supplier

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