17 September 2025
"Alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported to Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale", says the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in a new report.
MPs state that it is "unacceptable" that there is no clear, publicly available data showing the scale and nature of the illegal meat entering the country and its destination, as they warn of large and increasing volumes of illegally imported meat finding its way on to high streets, farms, markets, restaurants and kitchen tables.
The report highlights that illegal meat imports, which have been increasing for a number of years under a succession of Governments, carry a high risk of animal diseases that threaten food security, farming and the economy. They highlight that some of the most serious animal diseases, like foot and mouth disease and African swine fever (ASF), can travel long distances and cross borders in contaminated meat and dairy products.
Illegally imported meat also poses a serious health risk to consumers, as the conditions of slaughter, handling and storage are unknown and unregulated, meaning it is more likely to carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause illness in humans.
In March, the Committee visited the Port of Dover and witnessed a van being searched with meat found packaged in plastic bags and newspaper, stowed in cardboard boxes and in a defrosted chest freezer. The Committee was greatly concerned to see the inadequate conditions the Border Force facilities at the Port with limited ability to decontaminate inspection areas and no dedicated handwashing facilities.
One worker told MPs they had "found an entire pig stuffed inside a suitcase; its legs cut off badly so that it could fit inside. Not a professionally butchered animal". Workers from Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) told the Committee that, "there are literally hundreds of targeted vehicles driving straight past as we do not have the resources to stop and search".
The Committee's report contests Defra's reassurance that 'intelligence led checks' are being performed at the border, instead summarising the reality on the ground as "a limited and incomplete intelligence network, strained enforcement capability, and port facilities unsuitable for seizing significant volumes of potentially contaminated meat".
The report finds that there is currently no effective deterrent to meat smuggling. MPs call on Defra to deliver a plan to immediately start fining and prosecuting repeat offenders and those who are attempting to smuggle significant amounts of animal products. The Committee notes Defra's plans to crush vehicles carrying illegal imports, but warns this is 'not a silver bullet' to solve the problem.
The Committee says that animal disease threats are a national security issue, but found that there is currently no identifiable or effective ownership of the issue of illegal meat smuggling, and call on Defra to create a strategy for product of animal origin (POAO) smuggling, in collaboration with the National Food Crime Unit (FSA), the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (FSS), port health authorities, inland local authorities and Border Force.
The report also finds that "public awareness of animal disease risks is low, as is awareness of the rules about what food you can bring into the country for personal use or as a gift". MPs say this should be tackled with broader reaching communications and public awareness campaigns from the Government.
MPs welcome Defra's ban on personal imports of most meat and dairy from the EU but say the ban has been "toothless", with prohibited animal products continuing to enter the UK through airports, sea ports and Eurotunnel in parcels, personal baggage, and vehicles. The report states that criminal enterprises are using the personal import routes to smuggle in large quantities of illegal meat for sale around the country "with impunity".
(Source: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, 8 September 2025)