Supermarket Tesco has confirmed that there are no plans to source American beef despite the recent UK-US trade deal.
The deal gave US farmers a quota of 13,000 metric tonnes for beef which meets UK standards, with UK farmers having the same quota for sales into the United States.
However, Tesco’s CEO, Ken Murphy, explained why the major supermarket brand would not be using American beef.
"We source 100 per cent Irish and British beef in Tesco and for the foreseeable future that policy will be the same, we’re not planning to change it," Murphy said.
Tesco is a market leader in the country, with a 28 per cent share in the country’s grocery market. Sainsbury’s, which has 15 per cent of the market, also sources all of its beef from Britain and Ireland.
US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins earlier stated that American beef is "the safest, the best quality and the crown jewel of American agriculture" and predicted the trade deal would 'exponentially increase" US beef exports to Britain.
However, Tesco's Murphy's recent statement has put a question mark on the future of American beef in the UK.
The recent trade deal was met with apprehension, with some farmers and consumers expressing fears that the deal could open the door to beef from cattle raised using hormones to boost their growth.
However, the government said certification procedures and border checks would ensure hormone-reared beef would not enter the UK.
"The rules on food standards have not changed and they will not change as a result of the deal," said Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.
He added that the agencies responsible for border safety checks would be able to test meat for traces of hormone with "consequences" for anyone breaking the law.
The National Farmers' Union said it was asking the government to provide more details on how checks would work to ensure safety standards were maintained.
