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On 15 January 2013, [[horse meat]] was found in frozen beef burgers at several Irish and British supermarkets. These supermarkets included [[Tesco]], [[Asda]], [[Dunnes Stores]], [[Lidl]], [[Aldi]] and [[Iceland (supermarket)|Iceland]]. The [[Food Safety Authority of Ireland]] (FSAI) conducted tests on a selection of beef and salami products with "best before" dates between June 2012 and March 2014.<ref name="independent">{{cite web|author=George Hook: |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/horse-and-pig-dna-found-in-some-supermarket-burgers-3354449.html |title=Horse and pig DNA found in some supermarket burgers - National News |publisher=Independent.ie |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref>
On 15 January 2013, [[horse meat]] was found in frozen beef burgers at several Irish and British supermarkets. These supermarkets included [[Tesco]], [[Asda]], [[Dunnes Stores]], [[Lidl]], [[Aldi]] and [[Iceland (supermarket)|Iceland]]. The [[Food Safety Authority of Ireland]] (FSAI) conducted tests on a selection of beef and [[salami]] products with "best before" dates between June 2012 and March 2014.<ref name="independent">{{cite web|author=George Hook: |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/horse-and-pig-dna-found-in-some-supermarket-burgers-3354449.html |title=Horse and pig DNA found in some supermarket burgers - National News |publisher=Independent.ie |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref>


==Overview==
==Overview==
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Religious groups such as [[Islamic dietary laws|Muslims]] or [[Kashrut|Jews]] cannot consume certain types of meat, particularly [[pork]]. Professor Reilly stated "for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/15/horsemeat-found-in-burgers_n_2482990.html |title=Horsemeat Found In Burger In Ireland |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref> The question of the reliability of Irish food traceability has also been called into question. In Britain the incident has been a catalyst for the discussion of the validity of a self-regulated meat industry. Karen Jenning, [[UNISON]]'s assistant general secretary, said that "the industry isn't fit to regulate itself".<ref>{{cite web|author=James Meikle |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/16/horsemeat-burgers-scandal-food-hygiene |title=Horsemeat-in-burgers scandal prompts food hygiene fears &#124; World news |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date=2013-01-16 |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref> Tesco dropped €360million in market value by Wednesday 16 January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|author=2013 Sports Calendar |url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/horse-meat-discovery-knocks-300m-off-the-value-of-tesco-shares-3355157.html |title=Horse meat discovery knocks £300m off the value of Tesco shares - Other Sports, Sport |publisher=Independent.ie |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref>
Religious groups such as [[Islamic dietary laws|Muslims]] or [[Kashrut|Jews]] cannot consume certain types of meat, particularly [[pork]]. Professor Reilly stated "for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/15/horsemeat-found-in-burgers_n_2482990.html |title=Horsemeat Found In Burger In Ireland |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref> The question of the reliability of Irish food traceability has also been called into question. In Britain the incident has been a catalyst for the discussion of the validity of a self-regulated meat industry. Karen Jenning, [[UNISON]]'s assistant general secretary, said that "the industry isn't fit to regulate itself".<ref>{{cite web|author=James Meikle |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/16/horsemeat-burgers-scandal-food-hygiene |title=Horsemeat-in-burgers scandal prompts food hygiene fears &#124; World news |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date=2013-01-16 |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref> Tesco dropped €360million in market value by Wednesday 16 January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|author=2013 Sports Calendar |url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/horse-meat-discovery-knocks-300m-off-the-value-of-tesco-shares-3355157.html |title=Horse meat discovery knocks £300m off the value of Tesco shares - Other Sports, Sport |publisher=Independent.ie |date= |accessdate=2013-01-22}}</ref>


===Comigel===
On 7 February 2013, [[Findus]] announced that in a sample of 18 beef lasagne products which it tested, 11 contained between 60% and 100% horse meat.<ref>http://news.sky.com/story/1049133/findus-beef-lasagne-meals-100-percent-horsemeat</ref> It was also revealed that some of the products sold had minced meat declared as beef that actually was 60-100% horsemeat.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1049133/some-findus-lasagne-meals-were-100-percent-horsemeat |title= Some Findus Lasagne Meals Were 100% Horsemeat |publisher=Sky New |date=2013-02-07 |accessdate=2012-02-07}}</ref> The source of the horse meat was a third party supplier of [[Comigel]], the producer of the lasagne. According to the FSA the company had been alerted by a third-party French supplier on 4th February 2013 and tested its beef lasagne products finding over 50% of the tested products contained horsemeat. According to reports both Findus UK and the French supplier withdrew all products related to the third party supplier. Reason for the contamination is "highly likely" criminal activity.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21377601 |title= Horsemeat scandal: Don't dump meat, says food minister |publisher=BBC News |date=2013-02-08 |accessdate=2012-02-08}}</ref>
{{main|Comigel}}
On 7 February 2013, [[Findus]] announced that in a sample of 18 beef lasagne products which it tested, that are distributed in both Great Britain and [[Sweden]],<ref>http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horse-meat-lasagne-factory-revealed-1595234</ref> 11 contained between 60% and 100% horse meat.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/07/findus-beef-lasagne-horse-meat</ref> It was also revealed that some of the products sold had minced meat declared as beef that actually was 60-100% horsemeat.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1049133/some-findus-lasagne-meals-were-100-percent-horsemeat |title= Some Findus Lasagne Meals Were 100% Horsemeat |publisher=Sky New |date=2013-02-07 |accessdate=2012-02-07}}</ref>


The source of the horse meat was third party supplier [[Comigel]], a French-headquartered frozen ready meal producer, from its subsidiary factory in [[Luxembourg]]. According to the FSA the company had been alerted by a third-party French supplier on 4 February 2013, and tested its beef lasagne products finding over 50% of the tested products contained horsemeat. According to reports both Findus UK and the French supplier withdrew all products related to the third party supplier. The reason for the contamination was initially stated as "highly likely" criminal activity,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21377601 |title= Horsemeat scandal: Don't dump meat, says food minister |publisher=BBC News |date=2013-02-08 |accessdate=2012-02-08}}</ref> with Comigel claiming that the contaminated meat supplier was by [[Spanghero]],<ref>http://www.rupertbates.com/2008/08/spanghero-legendary-family-of-french-rugby/ </ref> a firm owned by [[Lur Berri]].<ref>http://www.companieslist.co.uk/05301923-lur-berri-uk-limited
⚫
On 8 February 2013, Findus UK published a public apology on their website, also announcing that, following DNA testing, 3 of its products were found to contain horse tissue. These are the 320, 350 and 500 gram packages of Findus Beef Lasagne and the company offers a refund for products purchased.<ref>http://www.findus.co.uk/</ref> . In Sweden, Findus Sverige AB also announced a recall of its 375gr packs of ready made single portion lasagne (code 63957) and published a contact number for customers who had already purchased the products.<ref>http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/findus/pressrelease/view/findus-aaterkallar-1-portion-lasagne-375-gram-artikelnummer-63957-835305</ref>
</ref>

⚫
On 8 February 2013, Findus announced that they will accept no more meat from Comigel, and stopped further deliveries of the product in question. On the same day, Findus UK published a public apology on their website, also announcing that, following DNA testing, three of its products were found to contain horse tissue. These are the 320, 350 and 500 gram packages of Findus Beef Lasagne, with the company offering a refund for products purchased.<ref>http://www.findus.co.uk/</ref> Findus Sverige AB also announced a recall of its 375gr packs of ready made single portion lasagne (code 63957), and published a contact number for customers who had already purchased the products.<ref>http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/findus/pressrelease/view/findus-aaterkallar-1-portion-lasagne-375-gram-artikelnummer-63957-835305</ref>

Further on 8 February 2013, supermarket chain [[Aldi]] announced that it would be withdrawing Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today's Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese, products both sourced and supplied from Comigel, after tests found the meat content to contain between 30-100% horse meat.


==Irish investigation questioned==
==Irish investigation questioned==

Revision as of 11:50, 9 February 2013

ABP Food Group Logo
Liffey Meats Logo
The two companies whose meat factories produced the horse meat contaminated burgers

On 15 January 2013, horse meat was found in frozen beef burgers at several Irish and British supermarkets. These supermarkets included Tesco, Asda, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) conducted tests on a selection of beef and salami products with "best before" dates between June 2012 and March 2014.[1]

Overview

Of 27 beef products tested 37% were positive for horse DNA and 85% were positive for pig DNA. Of 31 beef meals products tested 21 were positive for pig DNA but all were negative for horse DNA. 19 salami products were tested but were negative for all foreign DNA.

Of the 37% of beef products tested positive for horse DNA, Tesco Everyday Value Beef Burgers tested at 29.1%. All other reported brands had >0.3% horse DNA. These products originated from Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambilton food processing plant in the United Kingdom. Trace amounts of horse DNA was also found in raw ingredients shipped imported from Spain and the Netherlands.[2]

The FSAI has announced that it is working with the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the processing plants to investigate the matter.[2] Tesco, Asda and Aldi have removed all the offending products from stock[3] and Aldi are conducting their own separate investigation.[1]

Horse meat is not a regular food consumed in Ireland and Britain. According to Professor Reilly, chief executive of the FSAI "In Ireland it is not our culture to eat horse meat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger".[1] Silvercrest, a subsidiary of ABP Foods has claimed that there is no risk to the public upon eating the foreign meat.[3] However, many of the issues raised surrounding this incident do not stem from an aversion to horse meat or safety concerns.

Religious groups such as Muslims or Jews cannot consume certain types of meat, particularly pork. Professor Reilly stated "for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable".[4] The question of the reliability of Irish food traceability has also been called into question. In Britain the incident has been a catalyst for the discussion of the validity of a self-regulated meat industry. Karen Jenning, UNISON's assistant general secretary, said that "the industry isn't fit to regulate itself".[5] Tesco dropped €360million in market value by Wednesday 16 January 2013.[6]

Comigel

Main article: Comigel

On 7 February 2013, Findus announced that in a sample of 18 beef lasagne products which it tested, that are distributed in both Great Britain and Sweden,[7] 11 contained between 60% and 100% horse meat.[8] It was also revealed that some of the products sold had minced meat declared as beef that actually was 60-100% horsemeat.[9]

The source of the horse meat was third party supplier Comigel, a French-headquartered frozen ready meal producer, from its subsidiary factory in Luxembourg. According to the FSA the company had been alerted by a third-party French supplier on 4 February 2013, and tested its beef lasagne products finding over 50% of the tested products contained horsemeat. According to reports both Findus UK and the French supplier withdrew all products related to the third party supplier. The reason for the contamination was initially stated as "highly likely" criminal activity,[10] with Comigel claiming that the contaminated meat supplier was by Spanghero,[11] a firm owned by Lur Berri.[12]

On 8 February 2013, Findus announced that they will accept no more meat from Comigel, and stopped further deliveries of the product in question. On the same day, Findus UK published a public apology on their website, also announcing that, following DNA testing, three of its products were found to contain horse tissue. These are the 320, 350 and 500 gram packages of Findus Beef Lasagne, with the company offering a refund for products purchased.[13] Findus Sverige AB also announced a recall of its 375gr packs of ready made single portion lasagne (code 63957), and published a contact number for customers who had already purchased the products.[14]

Further on 8 February 2013, supermarket chain Aldi announced that it would be withdrawing Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today's Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese, products both sourced and supplied from Comigel, after tests found the meat content to contain between 30-100% horse meat.

Irish investigation questioned

The credibility, competence and bona fides of the Irish authorities was brought into question as it was disclosed that further test results received from a German laboratory on 25 January 2013 were being withheld from the public.[15][16][17] This along with the fact that even though the Irish authorities had known of the contamination since 7 December 2012, yet as of 26 January 2013, seven weeks later, that it is still not known why there was 29% horse meat in burgers produced by ABP Food Group, has raised questions about how they are dealing with the scandal.[15] It had been claimed that the investigation had been started due to a tip off, but that has been denied by the FSAI.[15]

It also came to light that Burger King, Waitrose, Tesco, The Co-operative Group and Aldi have cancelled contracts with ABP Food Group because of the contamination.[18][19][20]

Factories

Table of factories that produced the horse meat contaminated burgers
Parent Company Factory Name Health Mark (Factory Number) Address Location % of FSAI sample contaminated with horse DNA
ABP Food Group[21]
Silvercrest Foods IE 565 EC[22] Ballybay, Co Monaghan, Ireland 54°07′57″N 6°54′25″W / 54.1326°N 6.9070°W / 54.1326; -6.9070 29.1[21][22]
Dalepak Hambleton UK HN012 EC[22] Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, U.K. 54°18′17″N 1°33′59″W / 54.3046°N 1.5664°W / 54.3046; -1.5664 0.1[22]
Liffey Meats Liffey Meats IE 325 EC[22] Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, Ireland 53°51′10″N 7°12′23″W / 53.8527°N 7.2065°W / 53.8527; -7.2065 <LOQ[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c George Hook:. "Horse and pig DNA found in some supermarket burgers - National News". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2013-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  2. ^ a b "Horse DNA found in some beef burger products". Fsai.ie. 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  3. ^ a b Rob Williams (2013-01-16). "Asda clears shelves of value burgers as horsemeat scandal knocks £300m off Tesco market value - Home News - UK". The Independent. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  4. ^ "Horsemeat Found In Burger In Ireland". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  5. ^ James Meikle (2013-01-16). "Horsemeat-in-burgers scandal prompts food hygiene fears | World news". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  6. ^ 2013 Sports Calendar. "Horse meat discovery knocks £300m off the value of Tesco shares - Other Sports, Sport". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2013-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horse-meat-lasagne-factory-revealed-1595234
  8. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/07/findus-beef-lasagne-horse-meat
  9. ^ "Some Findus Lasagne Meals Were 100% Horsemeat". Sky New. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  10. ^ "Horsemeat scandal: Don't dump meat, says food minister". BBC News. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  11. ^ http://www.rupertbates.com/2008/08/spanghero-legendary-family-of-french-rugby/
  12. ^ http://www.companieslist.co.uk/05301923-lur-berri-uk-limited
  13. ^ http://www.findus.co.uk/
  14. ^ http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/findus/pressrelease/view/findus-aaterkallar-1-portion-lasagne-375-gram-artikelnummer-63957-835305
  15. ^ a b c "Coveney struggles to contain beef crisis as results withheld". 2013-01-26. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  16. ^ "Time fast running out for Coveney as credibility wanes". 2013-01-25. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  17. ^ "FF criticises lack of data on burger inquiry". 2013-01-26. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  18. ^ "Waitrose ditches burgers linked to Irish firm". 2013-01-26. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  19. ^ "Horsemeat issue sees Burger King drop Irish supplier". 2013-01-23. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  20. ^ "Silvercrest says sorry after loss of contracts with two supermarket chains". 2013-01-31. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
  21. ^ a b Keena, Colm (2013-01-17). "Monaghan firm involved in horse meat controversy is part of Goodman empire". Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  22. ^ a b c d e f "FSAI Burger test results". 2013-01-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-01-18.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2013_horse_meat_scandal&oldid=537370782"