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Tuesday February 19, 2013

EU Grapples With Horsemeat Scandal

ABP are the owners of Slivercrest, the first company at which the problem was identified (Photocall)

Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney convened a European summit of agri-leaders to deal with the continuing horsemeat controversy in Europe.

Frozen meat products labelled as beef have been found to contain horsemeat in several EU countries.

The issue was first highlighted when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found 30% horsemeat during tests on low value Tesco frozen burgers.

The problem has since been identified in the UK, where several supermarket chains have withdrawn products after they were found to contain horsemeat instead of beef.

Findus, a French company supplying frozen meals to many major retailers in Ireland and the UK, found one of its Beef Lasagna products to be 100% horsemat.

The issue even reached Irish food giant Greencore, when UK supermarket Asda withdrew its Bolognese sauce from its shops after it was found to contain horse DNA.

Greencore, whose chief executive is Patrick Coveney, brother of Simon, the agri minister, said it had been provided by ABP Food Group.

ABP are the owners of Slivercrest, the first company at which the problem was identified.

It is owned by beef baron Larry Goodman - a controversial figure who was at the centre of a Tribunal of Inquiry in Ireland in the 1990s.

ABP said it had never knowingly purchased or supplied horsemeat.

The scandal now involves meat processors and suppliers in Ireland, France, the UK, Luxembourg, and Romania.

At the European meeting last week, it was proposed that every meat product in Europe be tested in the coming weeks.

Minister Coveney said the issue went beyond some rogue trader disguising horse as beef, and was a food fraud issue.

Some reports have linked the supply of horsemeat to criminal gangs operating in Eastern Europe.

Horse meat is considerably cheaper to produce than beef, but it does not undergo the considerable food safety testing and standards required of the beef industry in Europe.

Although there were some fears that horse meat could contain the chemical bute, governments across Europe are treating the scandal not as a food safety issue, but a food labelling problem.

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