Beef with Botswana Beef?

Why is is that in 2018, high quality beef that is imported by the UK from countries such as Botswana is (potentially?) mislabelled as “British beef”?

In Botswana, the mood is generally celebratory when the important market for the country’s beef, EU, is mentioned.

Since independence, the EU (the UK in particular) has been the main beef market for Botswana.

According to the UK BEEF LABELLING GUIDE(BL1):

“Beef imported from a non-EC country for which not all the compulsory labelling information is available…. you must label with the wording “Origin: Non-EC” and Slaughtered in [Botswana]. You should also supply a reference number or code when the beef is cut or repackaged after import.”

While British beef label obviously appeals to the market and is probably more profitable, is not labelling Botswana beef accordingly robbing the country of its “shine”? Is value lost as soon as the meat reaches UK shores?

Or perhaps the question should be: where does beef imported from Botswana end in the UK? Where can one buy it?

Perhaps, should we, as citizens of Botswana, simply be grateful that there is a privileged lucrative EU beef market for Botswana and not ask any questions?

While imported beef is “obviously” -recut and repackaged”, is developing countries such as Botswana not denied their development by not disclosing and positioning them as beef producing countries, too? Or declaring that the tender sirloin steak comes from Botswana will suddenly make it lose taste?

#britishbeef

#botswanabeef