Fast food chief says shop customers ‘misled’

The owner of the country’s biggest fast food chain said supermarket customers have been misled when buying burgers.

Pat McDonagh, managing director of Supermac’s, said they sourced all burgers from the same supplier and could trace its origin, but that supermarkets were cutting corners.

He said horse meat, which has been found in some beef products in supermarkets, did not up there by accident.

“What supermarkets are trying to do is to sell the cheapest product and probably the cheapest cut they can. Even at the best of times if you are buying frozen burgers in the supermarket there is going to be a lot of filler, soya bean or whatever, added to them.

“I think probably the most content of beef is somewhere between 60% and 70%. So really and truly, people are being misled when buying burgers in supermarkets,” Mr McDonagh said.

He said Supermac’s sourced all of its burgers from Rangeland in Monaghan and could trace the meat.

“It is probably only the retail side of the business that has been affected. Most other sectors of the catering industry and probably all the catering industry would know the source of who they are buying from and the meat processors.

“We have used our own supplier and processor for the last 30 years. We can trace the meat right down to the farm and right down to the cattle or the bullock that is being used in those burgers.

“But when you are in the supermarket and look at the prices of burgers, or four-ounce burgers in the packet, you have to question how they can produce it at that price, because the price of meat is gone extremely high at the minute.”

Mr McDonagh said he believed if there was horse meat in burgers, then it was put there deliberately.

“It is surprising that it has gone to this degree and that they have used horse meat in it... That has to be done consciously because you are not going to get 29% of horse meat in a burger by accident...

“I believe there is no horse meat manufacturer in Ireland so obviously they are buying in the meat from abroad. No more than chicken, a lot of which is bought in as well into the country. In some cases chicken is bought in and is relabelled Irish, which is ridiculous,” Mr McDonagh said.

“There is absolutely no fear from a health point of view. The only thing about it is that people are being misled.”