British consumers bought 550,000 tonnes less red meat in 2013 as sales of frozen burgers and ready meals containing beef slid in the wake of the horse meat scandal.
A year ago this week, horsemeat was discovered in burgers sold by British supermarkets, and industry insiders say the scandal continues to influence shoppers’ habits.
Sales of beef were down nearly 3% in the year to December 8, according to the latest figures from industry analyst Kantar, with frozen burgers and frozen ready meals the two foods most caught up in the scandal - falling 7.2% and 7.6% respectively.
Sales of lamb, however, soared, up 14.2%, as a glut of New Zealand lamb pushed prices down.
A survey by Ipsos MORI and The Grocer magazine showed that more than 30% of adults say the scandal has changed the way they buy and choose food, and 10% of adults say they are now eating less processed meat as a result.
The horsemeat scandal has also provided a boost for small independent butchers - 7% of shoppers say they are using high-street butchers more than before while the survey shows that Tesco was the supermarket most damaged, with one-in-five adults saying they now regarded the UK’s biggest retailer less favourably.
Tesco and Aldi had the biggest problems with contaminated products, and Tesco took out full page newspaper adverts to apologise to their shoppers.
A spokesman for Aldi insisted the discounter had suffered no lasting damage to its trade or reputation: “Trust in retailers and manufacturers across the industry was affected as a result of horsemeat. We have raised our standards of compliance for suppliers to ensure that our stringent specifications are met. We continue to test products, including speciation tests on all of our meat products.”
The German-based chain has just recorded its best ever Christmas in the UK. Sainsbury’s, which got a sales boost in the wake of the horsemeat scandal because none of its products were contaminated, said shoppers have since looked for a range of alternatives to minced beef, including chicken, fish and meat-free foods.
Quorn Foods, the company which makes vegetarian sausages, mince and other meat alternatives, said its sales rose 13% in 2013 as 2mn more shoppers opted to buy meat alternatives, nearly all of whom were meat eaters wanting to cut down rather than vegetarians.
Chief executive Kevin Brennan, said: “There is very clear evidence that the trend is away from eating meat.” He said the horsemeat scandal had “focused minds” on the potential poor quality of cheap meat products.
“Horsegate has really got people thinking about their consumption of meat,” he said.
