Tesco terminates Silvercrest burger contract

Fears are being expressed for jobs at the Silvercrest plant in Ballybay after Tesco terminated a €15m contract with the supplier as a result of the 'horse burger' controversy. The supermarket is to cease taking any products from Silvercrest after what it calls a "great breach of trust" in the recent horsemeat controversy. Tesco will continue to purchase fresh Irish beef worth more than €100m a year from other ABP companies. The company said in a statement this morning that it appeared Silvercrest had used meat in the frozen burger products that did not come from a Tesco list of approved suppliers. The controversy erupted two weeks ago after Food Safety Authority tests discovered horse DNA in three Tesco frozen beefburger lines, as well as in products in other supermarkets. One of the Tesco burgers - from its Everyday range and supplied by Silvercrest - was found to contain 29% horse DNA. A subsequent investigation concluded that a geling agent imported from Poland was found to be the source of the contamination. Tesco claims that it had instructed that meat should only come from Ireland and the UK. Tesco promised refunds to customers who had bought the products, which it identified as Tesco Everyday Value 8 x Frozen Beef Burgers (397g), Tesco 4 x Frozen Beef Quarter Pounders (454g), and a branded product, Flamehouse Frozen Chargrilled Quarter Pounders. As well as cancelling the supplier relationship with Silvercrest, Tesco is to introduce DNA testing across its meat products. ICMSA lashes out at Tesco Meanwhile, the President of ICMSA, John Comer, has described the Tesco statement as more than a little hypocritical and disingenuous. While acknowledging that what had happened should not have happened and was completely unacceptable, Mr Comer said that Tesco and other massive retail multiples seemed to be content to shrug final responsibility for food safety onto the people behind them in the supply chain who themselves operated under margins that Tesco effectively dictated and which were often below the costs of production. Mr Comer said that the fact of the matter was that it was primary producers and farmers who had been ultimately paying the price of Tesco's much publicised corporate adherence to the highest standard of food safety by being compelled to accept prices for excellent food that, more often than not, left them with little or no profit margin. In contrast, Tesco and their likes - who added nothing by way of value to the food product - took a huge and increasing margin of the final retail price. The ICMSA President said that ultimate fault for this latest scandal, and most of the preceding ones, lay squarely at the door of the 'cheaper and cheaper food' policy that had been adopted by Europe's biggest multiples and the complete lack of any meaningful EU regulation of the margins being taken by the retail multiples at the expense - and often to the ruin - of their suppliers, especially the farmers. Mr Comer said Irish beef has a superb and well-merited reputation and it now required a concerted effort by all parties to restore our beef sector to its rightful position. Tesco's statement in full: "Two weeks ago, on 16 January, we issued an unreserved apology to our customers because tests found horse DNA in three Tesco frozen beef burger lines. "We made a commitment to customers to investigate thoroughly and share the findings with them. Since then, we have been working hard to understand what happened and how we can stop it ever happening again. "We now understand - with as much certainty as possible - what happened. The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them. Consequently we have decided not to take products from Silvercrest in future. We took that decision with regret but the breach of trust is simply too great. "Ultimately Tesco is responsible for the food we sell, so it is not enough just to stop using the supplier. We have a well-equipped, expert technical team and world-class checks in place but we will not take anything for granted after this incident. It has shown that, in spite of our stringent tests, checks and controls there remained a small possibility that something could go wrong and it did. "We want to stop it ever happening again, so we are taking action to reduce that possibility still further. To underpin the strong measures already in place, we will now introduce a comprehensive system of DNA testing across our meat products. This will identify any deviation from our high standards. "These checks will set a new standard. It will be a significant investment for Tesco, borne by Tesco. We want to leave customers in no doubt that that we will do whatever it takes to ensure the quality of their food and that the food they buy is exactly what the label says it is."