The 2013 horse meat contamination scandal is an ongoing controversy regarding meat sold in Europe being advertised as beef, despite containing up to 60–100%[1] horse meat and other meat products such as pork.[2] The scandal arose on 15 January 2013 when horse DNA was discovered in frozen beef burgers being sold at several British and Irish supermarkets.
Initial investigation
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.[3] British Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told the House of Commons that it appeared that criminal activity had been at the heart of the scandal.[4] The FSAI announced that it is working with the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the processing plants to investigate the matter,[5] while in the UK the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is undertaking its own investigation. Tesco, Asda and Aldi have removed all the offending products from stock[6] and Aldi are conducting their own separate investigation.[3]
Test results
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. Nineteen salami products were tested but were negative for all foreign DNA.[citation needed] 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 less than 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.[5]
Laboratory DNA investigations have now been requested by the authorities into possible donkey meat contamination of mince meat products labeled as 100% beef.[7]
Companies
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,[8] 11 contained between 60% and 100% horse meat.[9] It was also revealed that some of the products sold had minced meat declared as beef that actually was 60–100% horsemeat.[10] The source of the horse meat was third party supplier Comigel, a French-headquartered frozen ready meal producer, from its subsidiary Tavola factory in Capellen, 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.[11]
The president of Comigel, Erick Lehagre, told Agence France-Presse that the contaminated meat supplier was Spanghero, a firm owned by Lur Berri[12] and founded in 1970 by Claude and Laurent Spanghero, two former France international rugby players.[13] He said that Spanghero had told him that the meat was not from France, but came from a producer in Romania.[14] On 11 February 2013 France's Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon warned it "will not hesitate" to to take legal action if there is evidence companies had knowingly duped consumers. Mr Hamon said an initial investigation by French safety authorities had found a French company Poujol (Spanghero's holding company) bought frozen meat from a Cypriot trader. That trader had bought it from a Dutch food supplier, who in turn bought it from two Romanian slaughterhouses. Poujol then supplied a factory in Luxembourg, owned by Comigel—which then supplied Findus and the British supermarkets. The French authorities are concerned about protecting the French agricultural industry and the effect of this scandal would have. The Romanian government has stated that there are no contracts between the Romanian abattoirs and any French, Cypriot or Dutch meat processors.[15]
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.[16] Findus Sverige AB also announced a recall of its 375 gram packs of ready made single portion lasagne (code 63957), and published a contact number for customers who had already purchased the products.[17] 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.
Scientists have also raised concerns over the potential contamination of beef products with veterinary drugs such as Phenylbutazone (bute),[11][18] which is commonly used as an analgesic in horses. Many of these drugs have been banned for human use because of their toxicity.[19]
ABP Food Group
Hamburger meat from Silvercrest Foods, a subsidiary of Larry Goodman’s ABP Food Group, in County Monaghan, Ireland, was found to contain 29% horse meat relative to beef. DNA from porcine was also found.[2] Burger King which has more than 500 fast food outlets in Ireland and the UK dropped Silvercrest as a supplier.[20] Burger King now uses suppliers in Germany and Italy instead.[21]
Source of contamination
The horse meat is thought to have originated in a Romanian abattoir which delivered the meat to a trader in the Netherlands who was subcontracted by a Cypriot trader. The Dutch trader then sold the frozen meat to Spanghero,[22] who then sent it to Comigel, where the end products for sale were made.[13] According to French media reports, Spanghero falsified documents regarding the meat, which may have come from old and sick horses[23] and was deemed unfit for human consumption. Despite this, it was still sent from Ireland to Romania for processing.
Reaction
Horse meat is not normally eaten 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".[3] Silvercrest, a subsidiary of ABP Foods has claimed that there is no risk to the public upon eating the foreign meat.[6] However, many of the issues raised surrounding this incident do not stem from an aversion to horse meat or safety concerns.
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".[24] Tesco dropped 360 million EUR in market value by Wednesday 16 January 2013.[25]
Religious groups
Religious groups such as observant Muslims or Jews do not 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".[26]
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 24 January 2013 were being withheld from the public.[27][28][29] 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.[27] It had been claimed that the investigation had been started due to a tip off from a whistle-blower, but that has been denied by the FSAI.[27]
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.[30][31][32]
Factories
Timeline
| Date | Event |
| 2012 Summer | Contamination may have started according to a leaked document.[18] |
| 2012-12-07 | Irish authorities become aware of the contamination in ABP Food Group burgers with 29% horse meat content.[27] |
| 2013-01-15 | Horse meat was found in frozen beef burgers at several Irish and British supermarkets. Including 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.[3] |
| 2013-01-16 | Tesco dropped 360 million EUR in market value.[25] |
| 2013-01-24 | Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) withheld 24 test results from a German laboratory.[27] |
| 2013-02-04 | Findus is alerted by a third party that the beef lasagne product did not "conform to specification"[11] |
| 2013-02-07 | Revealed that Findus beef lasagne range in the UK, France and Sweden and the shepherd's pie and moussaka ranges in France contained horse meat without proper declaration.[1][23][35] Out of 18 products 11 tested positive for horse meat.[1] |
| 2013-02-08 | DGCCRF inspect Spanghero and was able to review the traceability of documents for the concerned batches on the past 4 months, which attests of the conformity of Spanghero's procedures.[36] |
| 2013-02-14 | DGCCRF investigation results should be known. Which will determine the fraud source.[36] |
See also