Heart of the South West Trading Standards is urging shoppers to check meat labels carefully this festive season after a major investigation revealed misleading claims among some local butchers and farm shops.
Officers visited 15 shops – nine in Devon, five in Somerset and one in Torbay – and only two were compliant.
Checks on websites, social media and in-store displays uncovered inaccurate or ambiguous descriptions, with some imported products wrongly marketed as ‘local’ or ‘free-range’.
Under UK law, fresh, chilled and frozen meat – including beef, pork, lamb, goat and poultry – must display clear information such as the name of the food, type of meat, and country of origin or rearing and slaughter.
Provenance claims like ‘Westcountry’ or ‘outdoor-reared’ must be backed up by written confirmation from suppliers. Misleading or unclear labelling is a criminal offence.
Trading Standards advises shoppers to look for accurate labels and question traders about vague claims such as ‘locally sourced’, which may mean meat was bought from a local wholesaler but imported from abroad.
Fakir Mohamed Osman, Head of the Heart of the South West Trading Standards, said: “We want consumers to feel confident that they are supporting genuine local businesses and farmers.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen evidence of imported meat being sold as ‘local’ and ‘free-range’, which is illegal.
“Our officers will continue inspections and take proportionate action where necessary.”
All businesses were given verbal and written advice and will be re-visited to ensure compliance.
If businesses don’t comply Trading Standards can take further action. That could mean issuing a food improvement notice, taking formal samples for testing by the Public Analyst, or sharing information with partners like the National Food Crime Unit.
Due to such high non-compliance this work will continue in 2026.
For more information on meat labelling rules, see our online food law guidance or contact Trading Standards.