FSAI boss says cheating the consumer was common practice in EU

Cheating the customer for many convenience foods labelled as containing beef became common practice across the EU in the horse meat contamination scandal, said Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) chief executive Professor Alan Reilly at last week’s All-Ireland State Veterinarians’ Scientific Conference.

Three months on since the FSAI uncovered this serious food fraud, a major outcome from the initial Irish investigation is that global standards for the trade in beef trim will become more stringent, said Professor Reilly. “It will no longer be the industry norm to purchase frozen blocks of beef on face value alone, laboratory testing for species authenticity will be the new standard.

“DNA testing of meat products will also be the new standard for major retailers, as trust in labelling has been eroded.”