Four Men, One Business Convicted for Diverting Unsafe Meats Back Into UK Human Food Market
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In the UK, four men and one business have been convicted for diverting meat that was deemed unsafe for human consumption back into the human food market, following an investigation by the UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) and the London Southward Council.
The investigation began when officers in the Southwark borough of London discovered 1.9 tons of Category 3 animal byproducts—including whole and cut chickens, lamb testicles, and beef burgers—in an illegal butchery being processed for sale on the human food market. Meats categorized as animal byproducts are not allowed to be sold for human consumption for food safety reasons.
NFCU traced the illegal animal byproducts back to legitimate food businesses, which sent the products to the company Fears Animal Byproducts in Somerset, England to be manufactured into pet foods or for safe disposal. Further investigation of communications data showed evidence of criminal conspiracy involving four men: Mark Hooper, Azar Irshad, Ali Afzal, and Director of Fears Animal Byproducts, Anthony Fear.
All of the men except for Mr. Fears entered guilty pleas. At hearings in January 2025, Mr. Hooper, a manager at Fears Animal Byproducts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud by placing unfit food on the market; Mr. Irshad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, as well as failure to comply with Regulation 19 Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations relating to Unapproved Premises and Placing Unfit Food on the Market on three counts (smokies, out-of-date beef burgers, and illegally diverted Category 3 animal byproducts); and Mr. Afzal pleaded guilty to failure to comply with Regulation 19 Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations relating to Unapproved Premises.
Mr. Fears, who pleaded not guilty on behalf of himself and his business, was put on trial. On March 27, 2025, the jury unanimously found Mr. Fear and his business guilty of conspiracy to defraud by placing unfit food on the market.
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