Beef import suspicions after horse DNA found
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association president Gabriel Gilmartin said, “Suspicions are growing among Ireland’s beef farmers that the Irish beef content of burgers is being reduced, with a view to keeping prices down. This concern has arisen because of the explanation that the horse DNA is linked to imported product.
“Are the imports limited to trace ingredients, gelling agents or flavourings, or are they actually imports of meat which is making up a substantial portion of the burger?”
Controversy has grown since Tuesday’s announcement by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) that it found traces of horse in beef burger products — and at a 29% level in one sample of frozen beef burgers.
The burgers containing horse DNA were produced in two meat plants in Ireland — Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods — and one in the UK, Dalepak Hambleton. Of 27 beef burger products analysed, 10 tested positive for horse DNA and 23 for pig DNA. They were on sale in Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland shops.
The FSAI said there was no food safety risk, and consumers should not worry — but the announcement generated a backlash over consumer deception, and offence due to the cultural perception of horse meat in the UK and Ireland, and undeclared pigmeat — forbidden in the Muslim and Jewish religion and culture.
Tesco immediately withdrew all fresh and frozen burgers — and was one of the weakest stock market shares yesterday, losing £300m of market value. Also in the UK, which takes more than half of Ireland’s annual €1.9bn of beef exports, Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh backed advice from British farmers to shoppers to choose produce that ‘guarantees quality British standards’.
Food sector analysts agreed that processed meats sales in the UK and Ireland are likely to fall — unless the spotlight shifts to continental suppliers. Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said an investigation into equine DNA in beef would focus on burger binding ingredients imported from the Netherlands and Spain. The FSAI detected horse DNA in burger raw materials, including some from these two countries.
