Millions of UK kebab lovers may have unknowingly eaten goat, skin and fat instead of lamb, a BBC investigation has revealed. One of the country's largest doner kebab manufacturers, Kismet Kebabs, admitted to fraud and was fined £500,000.
Investigation uncovers widespread fraud
Kismet Kebabs, which supplied doner kebabs to shops nationwide, was found to have mislabelled its products. Kebabs advertised as '70% lamb' contained less than 10% sheep DNA, according to tests. Swansea trading standards officer Rhys Harries said: 'I think some customers won't be surprised there's a lot of skin and fat in these products – but I don't think many people will be expecting goat.'
When investigators raided the Kismet Kebab factory in 2021, they found no shipments of lamb. Instead, there were pallets of goat, trimmings, offcuts with high fat content, boxes of fat, boxes of skin, and mutton. Harries described the process: 'It all goes into a massive mincer and comes out looking like Play-Doh.'
Comparison to horse meat scandal
The case has drawn comparisons to the 2013 horse meat scandal, where Tesco sold beef burgers containing horse meat. Harries noted: 'It's almost the same as the horsemeat scandal, because of the volume of product that was going out of this factory.' He added: 'This is straightforward food fraud. They were charging wholesalers and consumers a premium price for something that's full of rubbish.'
Kismet Kebabs admitted to fraud dating back to 2021 and was fined £500,000. The company is still in operation but has changed leadership since the scandal. In a statement, a spokesperson said: 'It is important to recognise that the matters in question relate to historical events and do not reflect the standards, systems, management structure, or operational controls that exist within the business today.'
Consumer impact
Harries emphasised that consumers deserve honesty: 'A consumer buying a kebab knows it's probably not the best quality ingredients, but it's still got to be what it says it is.' The investigation highlights ongoing issues with food fraud in the UK's takeaway industry, affecting millions of customers who regularly consume doner kebabs.
