Silvercrest loses Tesco deal over horsemeat

Tesco has pulled the plug on its €15m contract with Silvercrest following the horsemeat scandal as the Irish company braced itself for the possibility of Burger King following suit.

The Co-operative Group has also cancelled its contract after independent tests of its own-brand beef burgers supplied by the company, had found traces of less than 1% horse DNA in three samples and 17.7% in one sample.

In a statement, Tesco Group technical director Tim Smith said “the breach of trust is too great” after tests confirmed Silvercrest had sourced material for its budget burgers from suppliers not approved by the supermarket chain.