Farm Minister Richard Lochhead has launched an investigation into reports that imported beef is being wrongly packaged and labelled as from the UK.
Mr Lochhead has tasked newly formed food standards body Food Standards Scotland to investigate the issue and report back to him by the end of the month.
He has also requested that red meat levy body Quality Meat Scotland look into whether or not these reports are linked to the fall in prime cattle prices.
“Many farmers I have met recently were very concerned about a sudden drop this year in fat cattle prices, which could be linked to an increasing volume of imported beef into the UK market,” said Mr Lochhead.
“It’s important that we fully understand this issue, which is why I’ve asked Quality Meat Scotland to investigate the level of beef imports since the start of the year, and any contributing factors that are having an effect on the price of cattle.
“The speculation that imported meat is being passed off as a domestic product is a serious matter. The Scottish Government has drawn this to the attention of Food Standards Scotland and have asked them to work with QMS to establish if any breach of the EU regulations is taking place.”
QMS chairman Jim McLaren warned against “potentially damaging, inaccurate speculation” and said there were various factors influencing prime cattle prices. “Understandably, the difficult start to 2015 in terms of prime cattle prices has been a source of frustration and concern for finishers, particularly as many of the factors behind the easing of prices are outwith producers’ control,” said Mr McLaren.
“However, the coming months look more encouraging for beef producers as the supply and demand pendulum starts to swing back towards farmers. All the signals suggest it is likely we will then see some firmness in the market for beef producers.”