Consumers shun frozen food due to horse crisis

Consumers are giving frozen foods the cold shoulder as the horsemeat crisis continues.

Frozen burger sales have fallen, 43% while frozen ready meals are down by 13%.

The grocery share figures from the Kantar Worldpanel group said the sales declines were “clearly demonstrating a change in shopping habits”.

The research showed that, over a 12-week period ending on Feb 17, Tesco in Britain still had the highest share for sales of burgers and ready meals.

A separate survey, by moneysavingexpert.com and involving almost 14,000 website users, found 51% of meat-eaters said they would buy horsemeat if they knew it was bred for eating and was therefore safe.

Of those who said they would eat horsemeat, 29% said it would need to be cheaper than beef.

However, 48% said they would refuse horsemeat even it if was free.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, said the controversy over horse DNA in beef and other meat products may prove beneficial for providers of horsemeat.

“Many who have, albeit unwittingly, already eaten it, now say if it were properly labelled they’d give it a go,” he said.

Another survey, this time by Ipsos Mori, found consumers aged between 45 and 54 are the most likely to be willing to consume horsemeat, with those aged 16 to 24 less keen.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the mislabelling of horse produce as beef by Carrick-on-Suir firm B&F Meats is continuing.

It emerged on Friday that the factory which debones beef and horsemeat was sending horsemeat to a customer in the Czech Republic, via a British-based trader, using a label that, in Czech, referred to beef.

B&F Meats also has a facility in Thomastown in Co Kilkenny, but it is understood this premises is not operating due to a fire.

The focus of the departmental and gardaí investigations centre on Tipperary.

This week, Ikea took what it called an “extra precautionary measure” of a temporary sales block of frozen meatballs in parts of Europe after Czech authorities said traces of horsemeat had been found.