‘Burger firm must back up claims’

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has dismissed reports that the beef burger found to have 29% horse content did not contain any additives sourced overseas.

He was commenting after reports that the burger at the centre of the controversy, manufactured by Silvercrest Foods for Tesco, had no content sourced from third-party continental firms.

His comments also came a day after Larry Goodman, who owns parent company ABP Food Group, told the Financial Times he would have been surprised if DNA testing had not found unwanted content in the beef burgers, such was the level of sensitivity in the testing process.

“We are talking about DNA testing and DNA will pick up molecules and something in the air,” said Mr Goodman. He also denied cost-cutting in his beef operation.

On Saturday, the Irish Examiner revealed that the Dutch equivalent of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland had been asked to get involved in the investigation into how a Tesco Everyday Value beef burger came to have 29% horsemeat content.

Suspicion as to the possible source has fallen on third-party suppliers of additives in Spain and the Netherlands, but a Sunday newspaper claimed ABP had said no third-party additives went into the Tesco burger.

The claim prompted confusion on the part of Mr Coveney, who expressed surprise and demanded ABP provide an explanation.

Speaking on Newstalk, he said he did “not know where that article is coming from” and claimed if ABP was now saying that no third-party additives sourced overseas went into the Tesco burgers “they need to back that up”.

He referred to the testing carried out by the Department of Agriculture, the results of which were released last Thursday. In addition to the testing of the Irish produce involved, none of which indicated the presence of high amounts of equine material, one of two tests carried out on additive material sourced overseas did have equine content.

The minister said more tests were due today and possibly tomorrow or on Wednesday.

In a statement yesterday, ABP said: “The company is investigating all possible sources of horse DNA contamination. At this stage the investigations remain centred on third-party ingredient suppliers from the continent.”

The FSAI said it had conducted testing for the presence of phenylbutazone — a veterinary medicine commonly administered to horses — in those equine DNA positive samples and that all the tests for were negative.

Regarding the lower levels of equine and pork content in most of the initial samples it said this indicated “inadvertent rather than a deliberate presence” and added: “Some research is required to determine if there are thresholds below which cross-contamination with DNA is unavoidable.”