Caterers offered 'credit crunch' meat cuts

A dozen new cuts of meat have been awarded the Quality Standard, in a bid to help caterers hit by rising ingredient costs.

EBLEX, the official body responsible for promoting British beef and lamb, has launched eight new beef steak cuts and four lamb grills. The cuts have been designed as cheaper alternatives to sirloin and fillet steaks.

"The impact of food inflation has meant that our company, like every other, has been forced to increase the price of all our meat products," said David Jenkins, sales director of Pioneer Foodservice. "As a result, we’ve been trying to find ways to provide our customers with more cost effective alternatives."

Saying that he had initially been "very sceptical" about the idea, Jenkins said that the new steaks and grills were a "great development" for the industry and its customers.

"EBLEX has shown that with careful seam butchery, a cut such as Flat Iron from the Chuck, which is usually used for stewing, can now be marketed as a premium steak," he said.