Kebab Firm Fined After Millions of Britons Served Mislabelled Meat

Millions of consumers in the United Kingdom may have unknowingly consumed goat, chicken drumsticks, and animal fat in kebabs that were advertised as lamb, according to a food fraud investigation. Kismet Kebabs, a significant supplier in the UK, was fined £500,000 last month after admitting to a scheme that allegedly generated £6 million and spanned back to 2021.

Routine DNA testing on doner meat from takeaways in Swansea, initiated in 2020, raised initial concerns. Investigators raided the Kismet factory in May 2021, discovering that no lamb was being delivered to the site. "I think some customers won't be surprised there's a lot of skin and fat in these products - but I don't think many people will be expecting goat," said Trading Standards officer Rhys Harries. He added that the scale of the deception was comparable to the horsemeat scandal due to the volume of product involved.

Investigators found that the same batch of doner meat was being packaged and sold under different labels. One product, advertised as "70 percent lamb," contained less than 10 percent sheep. Another, claimed to be 87 percent lamb, was found to be 40 percent animal fat. "We were seeing labels that bore no resemblance to what they were actually putting in [to the kebabs]," Harries stated, noting that the company was charging premium prices for misrepresented products.

Swansea Crown Court heard that various councils had lodged complaints about Kismet Kebabs' labelling practices. The company, which had won "best supplier of the year" at the British Kebab Awards in 2021, was ordered to pay £259,298 in costs. The judge described the firm's actions as "considerable dishonesty" over an extended period.

Kismet Kebabs, which asserts it is one of the UK's largest kebab meat suppliers and holds a global food safety accreditation, stated that it has significantly invested in strengthening its systems and controls. The company added that historical events do not reflect its current standards. Directors Panayiotis Vasilis Michael and Djemal Enver, who admitted to one count of fraud by false representation, have been with the company since 2014. A spokesperson for Kismet noted that an individual no longer with the company was responsible for its day-to-day operations until 2022.