CONSUMER watchdogs have warned people to be on their guard against misleading labels found on packets of minced beef.

Trading standards teams in Yorkshire have been sampling products over the past few months to check on fat levels

They found that many people were confused by descriptions including lean, extra lean, super lean, best, prime and magnificent.

In some cases, products described as lean or extra lean contained more fat than ordinary minced beef, including one sample which contained 23 per cent fat.

City of York principal trading standards officer Richard Withers said the figures showed a decline in standards and increasing confusion for the consumer.

He said the survey results would be passed to the Food Standards Agency to consider the wide range of product descriptions and whether compositional standards should be introduced.

"The public should be able to put their trust in product labels and get what they pay for," he said.