Lamb purchasers are, on average, much older than buyers of beef and pork, and especially poultry. Data including National Food Survey results indicate at least 70% of retail lamb purchases are by shoppers aged over 45. Research into shoppers' behaviour during the BSE crisis in mid 1996 showed older consumers were much less likely than young consumers with children to abandon beef purchases. The same phenomenon appears now to be protecting the lamb market against the increasingly frequent suggestions of a link with BSE. {{MEAT }}

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