Horsemeat found in burgers

Horsemeat found in beefburgers on sale in UK and Ireland




The FSAI said the affected supermarkets had withdrawn the products from sale


Horse
DNA has been found in some beefburgers being sold in UK and Irish
supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has
said.

The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in
Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton
plant in Yorkshire.

It said there was no risk to health.

The burgers were on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and
Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they were on sale in Dunnes Stores,
Lidl and Aldi.

“Start Quote


<blockquote>In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.”
</blockquote>
Prof Alan Reilly
FSAI chief executive

The FSAI said the retailers stated that they were removing all implicated batches of the burgers.

A total of 27 products were analysed, with 10 of them containing horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.

'Unacceptable'
Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco.

In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie,
beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive
for pig DNA.

The chief executive of the FSAI, Professor Alan Reilly, said
that while the findings posed no risk to public health, they did raise
some concerns.





















Irish Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney: ''There is no food safety risk"








"Whilst, there is a plausible explanation for the presence of
pig DNA in these products due to the fact that meat from different
animals is processed in the same meat plants, there is no clear
explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products
emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production
process," he said.

"In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and
therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger," Prof Reilly added.

"Likewise, for some religious groups or people who abstain
from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is
unacceptable."


“Start Quote
<blockquote>The safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco”
</blockquote>

Tim Smith
Tesco's group technical director

The Irish Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, said he was concerned
by the FSAI's findings, and had sent government vets into the factory
that produced the 29% horsemeat burger to interview management.

He reassured the public that the burgers posed no health risk
and added that the Republic of Ireland "probably has the best
traceability and food safety in the world".

'Extremely serious'
Tesco's group technical director, Tim Smith, said his company
was informed of the test results by the FSAI on Tuesday and they
"immediately withdrew from sale all products from the supplier in
question".

In Tesco's case, two frozen beefburger products that are sold in both the UK and Ireland were found to contain horse DNA.

In a statement, Mr Smith said: "The safety and quality of our
food is of the highest importance to Tesco. We will not tolerate any
compromise in the quality of the food we sell. The presence of illegal
meat in our products is extremely serious."

He added that Tesco was "working with the authorities in
Ireland and the UK, and with the supplier concerned, to urgently
understand how this has happened and how to ensure it does not happen
again".

'Quality'
Iceland said it has "withdrawn from sale the two Iceland brand quarter pounder burger lines implicated in the study".

In a statement, the company said it noted the FSAI's findings
"with concern" and "would be working closely with its suppliers to
investigate this issue and to ensure that all Iceland brand products
meet the high standards of quality and integrity that we specify and
which our customers are entitled to expect".

Aldi said only one of its products - which is only on sale in the Republic of Ireland - was affected.

In a statement, Aldi Stores (Ireland) said: "Following
notification this afternoon from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
(FSAI) of an issue in relation to our Oakhurst Beef Burgers (8 pack) we
have immediately removed the product from sale and have launched an
investigation into the matter."

The company said it "takes the quality of all its products
extremely seriously and demands the highest standards from its
suppliers".

Lidl was not immediately available for comment when contacted by the BBC.

Meanwhile, Silvercrest Foods and Dalepak both said they had
never bought or traded in horse product and have launched an
investigation into two continental European third party suppliers.


Source:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21034942