Food chiefs to face Dáil probe over burger scare

TDs are to launch a probe into how the horsemeat scare was allowed to threaten Ireland’s lucrative beef industry as they haul food company chiefs before them.

The Oireachtas agriculture committee is to hear from ABP Food Group executives this week as part of investigations into how such widespread reputational damage was allowed to be done to the country’s food export image.

The beef-processing giant has been at the centre of the storm after it lost a €15m burger contract with Tesco because of its use of product from Poland. Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney will also appear before the committee on Thursday, along with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, to end confusion over where the contaminated produce came from. Despite Irish tests finding Poland to be the source of horse meat in Silvercrest burgers, Polish tests were negative. The situation is expected to be decided when final results are released today.

More than 10m burgers had to be removed from sale after revelations that the FSAI found a third of its sampled products to contain horse DNA dominated media reports in Ireland and Britain last month.

In a hard-hitting 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.

“The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them,” said Mr Smith.

“Consequently, we have decided not to take products from Silvercrest in future. We took that decision with regret but the breach of trust is simply too great.”

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

ABP Food Group, which owns Silvercrest, has installed a new management structure at the plant to try and limit the damage.

Crisis talks have also been held with Burger King, which suspended supply of beef from Silvercrest as a precautionary measure.

It is uncertain if Tesco is considering legal action. The company said it was introducing DNA testing across its food range.

Mr Coveney is also expected to be quizzed about the illegal slaughter of horses using forged horse passports.

Committee chair Andrew Doyle said the probe was to ensure such mistakes were not repeated.