Garda probe as ‘beef’ is 75% horse

The Garda Fraud Squad has been called in to investigate the deepening horsemeat scandal after beef product at a Monaghan processing plant was found to contain 75% equine DNA.

The Department of Agriculture’s special investigation unit is also joining the inquiry into how horsemeat labelled as Polish beef filler is being sold to Irish beef burger factories.

Production was temporarily suspended at Rangeland Food’s Castleblayney plant yesterday, but, according to the company, none of the contaminated batch of meat filler had gone into production. The meat filler was imported through a meat trader based in Ireland and arrived in Co Monaghan in recent weeks.