More Horse Meat in Food Stirs Furor in British Isles
By STEPHEN CASTLE and DOUGLAS DALBY
LONDON — The scandal has fueled worries about what has been going into
cheaper burgers consumed in millions in British schools, hospitals and
prisons.
the drug phenylbutazone or "bute"Phenylbutazone, often referred to as bute, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the short-term treatment of pain and fever in animals. Wikipedia
Meals on Wheels - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meals_on_Wheels - CachedMeals on Wheels are programs that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used ...
Horsemeat row: Don't dump meat, says food minister
David Heath: "The Food Standards Agency has been working flat out on this issue"
People
should not throw away frozen meat products in the wake of the
revelations about horsemeat in Findus lasagne, the food minister has
said.
David Heath advised consumers to carry on eating meat unless told otherwise.The Food Standards Agency has asked UK firms to test all processed beef foods, but said it did not "suspect there is any health issue with frozen food".
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is to hold a summit with heads of meat retailers and suppliers on Saturday.
Food Minister Mr Heath said the government's advice was "exactly that" of the FSA's.
"The FSA says there is no reason to suppose there is a health risk and therefore the advice is to carry on with normal shopping habits until you are told otherwise," he told the BBC.
But shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh has expressed fears that other contaminated foods may be found.
'Criminal activity' Earlier this week, a third-party French supplier alerted Findus to concerns that the beef lasagne product did not "conform to specification".
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said Findus had tested the meat in 18 of its beef lasagne products and found 11 meals in which it contained between 60% and 100% horsemeat.
Findus has withdrawn the meals. Comigel, the French supplier, said it had withdrawn all products related to its supplier.
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Is it a health risk?
Horsemeat itself should be no more dangerous than beef and is eaten in many countries around the world.
However, there is concern around a drug given to horses - known as bute (phenylbutazone) - which is dangerous if taken by humans.
Decades ago it was used as a treatment for gout and arthritis, but it caused a serious blood disorder, aplastic anaemia, in rare cases.
While it was banned for human use, it is still used for animals. However, it is not allowed to enter the human food chain.
Findus has been asked to test for bute in its products.
If people have any of the affected meals lurking in their freezer, they are advised to return them to the store they were purchased from.
The FSA said it was "highly likely" criminal activity was to blame for the contamination.
Andy Foster, of the Trading Standards Institute, also said
deliberate fraudulent activity, not accidental contamination, could be
to blame. In other developments:
- Ms Creagh says she has contacted police to pass on information concerning UK companies who are potentially involved in the illegal horsemeat trade
- The GMB union says all hospitals, schools and meals-on-wheels services should verify that horsemeat has not been served to vulnerable people
- Trading standards and environmental health bodies say their officers across the UK are on "high alert"
- Findus says it is "sorry that we have let people down", in a fresh statement
The FSA's website advises consumers: "There is no reason to suspect that there's any health issue with frozen food in general, and we wouldn't advise people to stop eating it."
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Between fresh and processed, the UK consumes more fresh or frozen beef.
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Peter Kendall, president of the National
Farmers' Union, said farmers who had suffered from food scares in the
past were "furious" over the horsemeat revelations because they had
already "raised their game".
He urged consumers to buy British meat to be sure of what they are eating.Findus is the latest company to be caught up in the controversy surrounding contamination of meat products, which has affected firms in the UK, Irish Republic, Poland and France.
Last month, Irish food inspectors announced they had found horsemeat in some burgers stocked by a number of UK supermarket chains, including Tesco, Iceland and Lidl.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
The French authorities have been slow to react. But today the French Ministry of Agriculture did finally issue a statement. It considers the issue "a matter of criminal fraud" and the authorities will be investigating.
The question - as yet unanswered - is how horsemeat ended up in the beef chain. Was there confusion between the two meats - beef and horse - that were processed in the same plant? Or, as is more likely, was Comigel duped by a third party supplier?
There is also a wider issue for the European authorities. The rules on labelling for meat products are fairly straightforward. But the rules are less clear on the provenance of meat when it comes to the ingredients of processed products. And food analysts are now calling for a review.
Since Comigel also supplies the Benelux, Scandinavian and Eastern Bloc supermarket chains, this is fast becoming a European problem.
Horsemeat may not pose a significant risk to humans but the health of European food processing is very much open to question.
Ms Creagh expressed fears there were further revelations to come from the food industry.
"What we have had over the last four weeks is a constant
drip, drip, drip of revelations from the food industry, from the Food
Standards Agency, and what I am worried about is that the more they are
testing for horse, the more they are finding," Ms Creagh said.She suggested further guidance was needed on whether people should eat other processed foods labelled as containing beef.
Mr Heath said the FSA was undertaking the "biggest testing of beef products that has ever taken place" in order to offer reassurance.
Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking in Brussels, described the latest revelations as "very shocking" and "completely unacceptable".
A statement from the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said it "deplores the latest reported incidents of gross contamination of some processed meat products".
It urged members to review their raw material and ingredients-sourcing procedures.
The supermarket chain Aldi was also advised to withdraw its Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today's Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese by French supplier Comigel.
An Aldi spokesman said the meals had been withdrawn immediately and it was carrying out its own investigations.
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