Six sheep heads have been seized by food inspectors after they were found on sale illegally in a north London supermarket.
The heads - believed to be at least four years old - were discovered by Enfield Council's food safety team during a routine inspection of the shop in Edmonton.
They were seized amid fears that they could potentially carry traces of BSE. Food safety laws require that certain parts of sheep carcases, including heads, must be removed to prevent the risk before they can be offered for sale.
Councillor Chris Bond, who is Enfield's cabinet member for environment, said the find represented "incredibly irresponsible" behaviour on the part of the supermarket.
"We take this sort of behaviour incredibly seriously and take a very dim view of people who simply cannot be bothered to take the proper legal precautions to protect the public from exposure to a potentially fatal disease," he added.
"The business in question had no records of when and where they purchased these heads, which is incredibly concerning because anyone buying and ultimately eating them, doesn’t have the faintest idea of what they are eating."
Enfield council said the heads had been disposed of after the discovery was made on Tuesday, adding that the matter is now "subject to further investigation".
