A fraud investigation has been started by Surrey Police into the alleged supply of bogus organic meat to leading supermarkets.

Inquiries are centred on meat from a Guildford abattoir — until last week the premises were part of the Chitty Food Group — which has supplied products to Marks & Spencer and Tesco.

Detectives working with Surrey trading standards officers are also understood to be investigating whether imported meat was labelled as British before being packed for High Street stores.

Precise details of the alleged scam are scant but word has spread through organic producers who fear a further blow to the £2.1 billion a year organic market, which has been struggling in the recession.

Meat industry sources have told The Times that the investigation is wider and that alleged breaches in labelling rules may have undermined the food safety traceability systems, which allow companies to track meat from farm to fork.

Surrey Police confirmed it was working with officials from the Food Standards Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in an investigation of meat mislabelling at an abattoir.

A police spokesman yesterday said that the county trading standards were also now involved and were leading inquiries.

The Times has learnt that the food watchdog uncovered labelling discrepancies on meat and immediately decided to call in detectives.

There is no suggestion that any meat eaten by consumers is contaminated or a risk to human health. The issue is that retailers and shoppers may have been duped into paying premium prices for standard meat.

Organic meat carries a 30 to 40 per cent mark-up compared with conventionally produced meat. Conventional beef is on sale from £7 to £12 per kg whereas organic beef varies from £9 to £16 per kg.

Consumers may also have been misled into believing they are buying a home-reared joint of meat when it was imported.

A Marks & Spencer spokeswoman said: “We’re aware of the investigation and are working with the relevant authorities.”

Two weeks ago it was also reported in the trade press that Marks & Spencer had switched contracts from Chitty Foods to Dawn Meats, one of the biggest meat processors in Europe, with five plants in the UK.

Despite numerous requests the Chitty Food Group, whose headquarters is based in Horndean, Hampshire, has declined to make any statement. The firm, run by Andrew Chitty, was started in 1910 and has grown from family butcher to large-scale manufacturer.

In August the Chitty Food Group was prosecuted by Thames Water and fined for breaches in effluent regulations and for failing to use proper equipment.

Chitty’s Guildford abattoir and boning plant was acquired last week by Anglo Beef Processors as part of its expansion into the south of England.

A spokesman for ABP disclosed last night that it first became aware of the allegations during negotiations to purchase the abattoir and boning plant.

“As we were buying the assets and not purchasing the business, we did not feel that it affected or compromised the acquisition,” he said.

One meat industry source said: “These allegations may not be surprising given the unrelenting supermarket pressure on processors to cut prices, and obviously this can lead to the temptation to substitute what is available for what is specified, whether it’s conventional meat as organic or imported meat as British.”

Tesco confirmed in a statement last night that it had received supplies of beef from Chitty Foods.

A spokesman said: “Following allegations of fraud made against one of its meat suppliers Tesco decided to notify the Food Standards Agency who have subsequently called in the police to investigate.

“We are co-operating fully with the investigation and pending the outcome have ceased trading with the company.”

He said customers should be reassured that this is not a food safety issue and the affected product has been withdrawn from sale.

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