Horse-meat found in products produced by local meat processors

The discovery that horse DNA has been detected in certain products including beef burgers has been linked to two of the countries largest meat processing companies, both of which are located in the Cavan-Monaghan region. Yesterday evening, Tuesday January 16, it was announced by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney that, as a result of an investigation into the production of beef burgers by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), with particular focus on the use of imported ingredients, the presence of horse DNA was found in more than a third of the beef burger products tested. Of the 27 frozen beef burger products analysed, 10, or 37 per cent, tested positive for horse DNA, and the products which tested positive for horse DNA were produced by two Irish plants, Liffey Meats in Cavan and the ABP/ Larry Goodman-owned Silvercrest Foods, which has processing plants in Monaghan. Further traces were also found in burgers processed by UK company Dalepak Hambleton, owned by ABP UK. The food safety watchdog however states that the contamination of beef burgers with horse meat was probably accidental, owing to the nature of which additives sourced from abroad are used to bind the meat. The FSAI also says the findings pose no threat to public health, but it is a major blow to the reputation of the food industry in Ireland. In total, 9 of the 10 samples contained what was described as "low traces of horse DNA", less than 0.1 per cent in some cases. However, the level of DNA in a Tesco Everyday Beef Burger indicated that horse meat accounted for up to 29.1 per cent of the meat content. Meanwhile, pig DNA was also found in almost 85 per cent of burgers tested. The nine samples containing low levels of horse meat were taken from: Aldi's Oakhurst Beef Burgers; Dunnes Stores' St Bernard Beef Burgers and Flamehouse Chargrilled Quarter Pounders; Lidl's Moordale Beef Burgers, Moordale Ultimate Beef Burgers and Moordale Quarter Pounders; Tesco's Beef Quarter Pounders; and Iceland Quarter Pounders. The news that horse DNA traces have been found in processed meats sold to the public has prompted ICSA president Gabriel Gilmartin to said that he is, at the very least, "very concerned". "It is too early to say how this has come about. It has to be stressed that there is no safety issue but it is clearly unacceptable if there is any doubt about the provenance or the content of a beef burger. "There is some suggestion from the FSAI that DNA traces emanate from raw materials imported from other EU countries. "It would be totally outrageous if meat factories have tried to cut corners rather than using 100% Irish beef in their products. Farmers will feel that the Department of Agriculture needs to spend more time inspecting and monitoring processors and less time on farms. He added that the ICSA was urging Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney to instigate a full investigation immediately. Statement from Liffey Meats, Ballyjamesduff, owned by the Mallon family "Liffey Meats has withdrawn from sale all products identified by the FSAI tests. The FSAI tests found minute traces of non-beef DNA in the Company's beef burgers. The Company believes it has identified the source of the contamination. Liffey Meats is purely a beef processor and has absolute traceability on all of the beef used. The source of the contamination is imported ingredients and these will be replaced from other sources before production is resumed and customers are supplied. "As confirmed by the FSAI the products concerned represent no risk to human health. In two of the three samples the levels as reported by the FSAI are so low as to be at the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) and for the other sample the level detected is reported as being less than 0.1%. "We sincerely regret that any product produced by the Company would not conform to the highest specifications and sincerely apologise to our customers". Silvercrest has issued a statement blaming its European suppliers for the problem. Silvercrest Foods has said in a statement to The Anglo-Celt, "The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has identified traces of porcine and equine DNA in frozen beef burgers produced in the Republic of Ireland. "The FSAI stress that there is no food safety issue with these products. However, as they could be misleading to consumers, the FSAI has issued a press release. "A spokesperson for Silvercrest Foods, a subsidiary of ABP Foods, said: "This issue affects a number of burger manufacturing companies in Ireland (see attached FSAI table), including Silvercrest Foods. "Following tests carried out by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, we have been alerted to frozen beef burgers which contain porcine and equine DNA. "Although the products pose no risk to public health, Silvercrest has taken immediate action to isolate, withdraw and replace all suspect product. Silvercrest has never purchased or traded in equine product and has launched a full-scale investigation into two continental European third party suppliers who are the suspected source of the product in question."