Company Sold “Lamb” Mostly Made of Fat

A kebab manufacturer has been fined £500,000 after admitting it sold products labelled as lamb that contained significantly less lamb than claimed.

Swansea Crown Court heard that products supplied by Kismet Kebabs Ltd, based in Chelmsford, Essex, were found to contain a mixture of fat, skin, mutton, goat and mechanically recovered meat products rather than the quantities of lamb stated on packaging.

The company was also ordered to pay £259,298 in prosecution costs.

Prosecutor Lee Reynolds, representing Swansea Council, told the court that Kismet had misled wholesalers, restaurants and consumers over an extended period by falsely describing the contents of its products.

He said investigations found that much of the material marketed as lamb consisted largely of fat and skin. The company routinely purchased lamb fat, skin, goat meat and mutton, which were then processed and sold as lamb products.

The case began after Swansea Council’s trading standards team carried out routine sampling of kebab meat supplied to local takeaways and restaurants in late 2020 and early 2021. Analysis showed that several products did not match the meat content declared on their labels.

According to a BBC report, one lamb doner advertised as containing 87% lamb was found to contain only 51% meat and around 40% fat. Further testing of samples obtained from wholesalers revealed significant discrepancies between the stated and actual ingredients.

Investigators subsequently worked with the National Food Crime Unit and the Food Standards Agency. The court heard that concerns about Kismet’s labelling practices had previously been raised by several local authorities across England.

In May 2021, officers from Swansea Council visited Kismet’s factory in Chelmsford, where they identified multiple concerns relating to production processes, packaging and labelling.

Evidence presented to the court included invoices showing limited purchases of lamb compared with substantial quantities of fat, skin, goat meat and lower-grade meat products. Prosecutors said the company also produced mechanically recovered meat made largely from neck trimmings, mutton trimmings, water and ice, while counting this material towards the meat content declared on labels.

Mr Reynolds described the conduct as organised and deliberate, arguing that the company had systematically misled customers and businesses throughout the supply chain.

Kismet Kebabs Ltd previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation.

Defence lawyer Stuart Jessop said the company, founded in 2008, had operated successfully for many years and had since introduced significant reforms. He argued the business had gained little financially from the offences and warned that an excessive fine could threaten its future.

Sentencing the company, Judge Huw Rees said fraudulent activity had been “endemic” within the business during the period in question and involved “considerable dishonesty” over a prolonged time.

However, he acknowledged improvements made by the company since the offences occurred and noted that the precise level of consumer harm was difficult to quantify.

Kismet Kebabs Ltd was given four years to pay the fine and costs.