FSAI boss says cheating the consumer was common practice in EU
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.”
“Verification of the authenticity of meat species will be the new standard, which means that consumers will be the winners and products will be correctly labelled.”
He said the scandal quickly spread to other countries as food control authorities began testing beef products for horsemeat.
“What is astounding is the size of the scandal. Many products ranging from beef burgers, meat pies, beef balls, lasagne, spaghetti, beef meals, kebabs to chicken nuggets have all been removed from sale.
“Some of the major food brands and leading retailers have been caught up in the web of deception that was under way in Europe for at least one year and possibly longer.
“The net result for some companies involved has been the loss of market share, customers looking to competitors for the supply of safer products, and loss of consumer confidence in brand names.” Professor Reilly said the value of official food controls, and routine monitoring of the food supply by agencies working under service contract to the FSAI, were shown to be essential in protecting consumers’ health and consumers’ interests.
