Polish company denies supplying horsemeat as Irish trader speaks out

The international search for the source of the horsemeat scandal has met with denials from one of the Polish suppliers involved but has become clearer closer to home.

The Irish trader who handled the meat clarified his firm’s role in the shipment of the product and reiterated his belief he did not knowingly broker horsemeat.

Martin McAdam, of McAdam Food Service, said he did not own the consignment detained in a Newry plant with suspect labelling.

The Monaghan businessman said responsibility for the product’s provenance lay with the English company he was dealing with. This firm, Flexi Foods, had already been working with the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland after a consignment handled by McAdam Food Service was detained at a Freeza Foods cold store in Newry.

Flexi Foods has not been able to satisfy the FSA on the accuracy of its labelling since September.

Flexi Foods served many international customers and had among its original suppliers another Polish company, Food Service.

According to the labelling on some of the suspect product, Food Service was the original source of the meat. This is under investigation. The firm said it does not supply, slaughter, or store horsemeat.

Its manager, Marek Czerniej, said it served companies across Europe, including the Silvercrest plant in Monaghan for up to two years.

McAdam Food Service also handled the horsemeat products that showed up in two plants in Monaghan, Silvercrest and Rangeland.

Rangeland recommenced production yesterday after satisfying authorities of the source of its product.

“I’m a meat broker, I import product from the EU,” Martin McAdam told RTÉ’s Prime Time. “I have never seen or handled equine product, my company only deals in beef and pork. I have no explanation for why horse DNA could appear in a product.

“I don’t understand it, I’m still reeling from it, I haven’t come to terms with it. I am in the eye of the storm at the moment.

“I believe the source of the problem is in Poland and it is very sophisticated.”