AN award-winning Hampshire butcher has been fined after falsely advertising meat as coming from a brand seen as BSE-free.

Trading standards chiefs launched a probe after swooping on Uptons in Bassett, Southampton.

They quizzed owner Simon Broadribb on various Aberdeen Angus cuts he had on display.

Sales of the brand rocketed because of the BSE crisis but Mr Broadribb admitted only about 25 per cent was from the Scottish-reared cattle.

Tests carried out on lamb mince sold at the shop also revealed traces of beef in it.

Broadribb, 36, was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs after admitting two charges of breaching the Food Safety Act.

Principal trading standards officer Colin Russell told Southampton Magistrates' Court: "It is my understanding that the Aberdeen Angus cattle was virtually clear of BSE, which made it attractive to purchasers of beef.

"The chief executive of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society has said in a statement to the trading standards service that at the height of the BSE cases consumers increasingly resorted to the comfort and assurance which the certified Aberdeen Angus brand offered."

Broadribb, of Sir Lancelot Close, Chandler's Ford, claimed he had not deliberately misled customers after the investigation in March last year and that he had forgotten to replace old labels on the meat.

Mr Russell said Aberdeen Angus meat cost butchers £1.60 per lb while standard beef was sold for about 50p cheaper.

Trading standards officers had discovered lamb mince that contained at least four per cent of meat components derived from beef during a visit in November the previous year.

Mr Russell told magistrates: "Although the financial loss to the consumer isn't great, it's my understanding that a number of consumers nowadays choose not to eat beef because of potential health implications or religious reasons."

Broadribb, who has worked in the trade since he was 16, bought the shop in Winchester Road in 1994.

Among the accolades he has scooped are honours in the national Great Taste Awards for smoked back bacon for the past two years.

Jonathan Ritchie, mitigating, said there was no possibility of mince being contaminated again and that measures had been taken to ensure different meats could not be mixed up while they were on display.

He added that the shop's mincing machine was also thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis.

Mr Ritchie told magistrates the beef on sale at the shop was from quality local sources and that Broadribb cut back on supplies of Aberdeen Angus in 2000 because he believed standards were falling.

Chairman of the bench Chris Love said of the Aberdeen Angus offence: "We recognise there's a potential commercial gain in describing meat as Aberdeen Angus and, indeed, it may encourage people to buy that particular beef on health grounds."

Councillor Jill Baston, Cabinet member for environment and transport at the city council, said: "Many people today purchase their foodstuffs with healthy living in mind or because of a particular dietary or religious requirement.

"They must have the confidence that all descriptions of food are accurate."