A new report published by the UK Government calls attention to the “illegal meat crisis” spreading disease throughout the country, and demands a coordinated approach to tackling illicit imports.

Compiled by the UK House of Commons Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee, the report is based on an inquiry launched in January 2025, which included a call for evidence, a border checkpoint visit, and discussions with the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

“Alarming amounts of meat and dairy products are now being illegally imported to Great Britain for both personal consumption and sale,” largely through criminal smuggling operations, says the report. “Meat is arriving in unsanitary conditions, often in the back of vans, stashed in plastic bags, suitcases and cardboard boxes.”

The report hypothesizes that the cost-of-living crisis is driving the import and sale of illicit meat and dairy products. Public awareness about the food safety and zoonotic disease risks posed by these illegal products is also low.

The Scale of Great Britain’s Illegally Imported Meat Crisis

The report calls it “unacceptable” that there is no clear data showing the scale and nature of illegal meat entering Great Britain, and urged the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) to commission research to determine the scale of the illegal meat crisis.

Although there is no standardized, directly comparable data about illegal meat and dairy imports year-over-year, the British Border Force does record some information related to prohibited products of animal origin (POAO). National figures provided by Border Force for the report show an increase in POAO seizures in recent years, from 2,400 seizures weighing 128 tons in 2022, to 2,600 seizures weighing 235 tons in 2024. Anecdotally, the Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) reported that, since 2020, “there has been a substantial rise in local authority reporting of a broad spectrum of illicit imports” including meat and other products of animal origin.

Illicit meat and dairy products are being distributed online, and via door-to-door sales to businesses and households. These products can be found in markets, shops, takeaways, and hospitality venues where consumers trust that the food they are buying is safe. Oftentimes, illicit foreign meat is misrepresented as being of British origin, with beef and pork the most frequently fraudulent.

Public Health Risks of Illicit Meat and Dairy Imports

Microbiological food safety risks (i.e., foodborne pathogens, viruses, and parasites) posed by illegal meat are an important concern. The publication described the current prevalence of illegally imported meat as “the biggest threat to food safety [the UK has] had for a long time.” Illicit meat imports are undocumented, untraceable, and unhygienic.

Import control officers have noted the non-food-safe, unmarked, and “putrid” containers in which illegal meat imports are transported, as well as evident temperature abuse. Moreover, raw meat is often home-slaughtered with evidence of poor evisceration taking place.

Another major public health threat posed by the circulation of illegal meat imports in the UK include the spread of animal diseases, per the publication. Specifically, in 2025, European countries like Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia reported their first cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 40–50 years, elevating the risk of FMD virus entering Great Britain. Additionally, African swine fever has been spreading throughout Europe in recent years, hitting Romania particularly hard, and being reported in regions where it had not previously been present, such as Italy and Germany.

Worsening the issue, the risk of APHA facing an outbreak to which it would be unable to effectively respond is “very high,” according to a Defra assessment. This is due to compounding issues, including a severe dearth of official veterinarians, as well as APHA’s usual activities being affected by “almost continual outbreaks” of diseases like avian influenza.

The Need for a Coordinated, Interagency Response

At present, there is no identifiable or effective ownership of the issue of illegal meat imports in the UK. “Responsibility is so fragmented across agencies that outdated, inefficient ways of working have been allowed to persist and the scale of the crisis has been able to escalate to an intolerable degree,” says the report.

Therefore, the report recommends that, by January 2026, Defra should create a strategy for POAO smuggling in collaboration with FSA’s NFCU, Food Standards Scotland’s Food Crime and Incidents Unit (FSS’ FCIU), port health authorities, inland local authorities, and Border Force. The strategy should establish formal information-sharing mechanisms between Defra, local authorities, and port health authorities.

Additionally, a taskforce for illegal imports of animal products should be established by November 2025, led by the UK Minister for Biosecurity, to provide oversight of the strategy’s design and implementation and to drive improvements. This taskforce should include the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, APHA representatives, FSA and its NFCU, FSS and its FCIU, Border Force, and representatives from local governments.