Beef producers call for prosecutions over horsemeat scandal

Farmers and beef producers have called for prosecutions to be brought over the horsemeat controversy as a British parliamentary committee criticised the lack of legal actions here and in the UK.

Britain’s House of Commons environment, food, and rural affairs committee published its report on food contamination and said it was disappointing, six months on, that no prosecutions have been brought in either the UK or in Ireland, where the horsemeat contamination was first identified.

“The evidence we received from retailers and food processors in the UK and Ireland suggests a complex, highly organised network of companies trading in and mislabelling frozen and processed meat or meat products in a way that fails to meet specifications and that is fraudulent and illegal,” said the committee.