Meat producer rejects claims over horsemeat scandal probe

Meat producer ABP has slammed claims from inspectors in Poland that rotting meat detected as part of the probe into the horsemeat scandal may have been destined for the human food chain, saying the allegations are “entirely without foundation”.

The Report of the Chief Veterinary Officer on Suspicion of Adulterating Beef sent to Ireland with Horsemeat claimed that in January last year the green and rotting meat was found at the Silvercrest factory in Co Monaghan.

Inspector Katarzyna Piskorz said: “What I saw was clearly unfit for human consumption. It was part of a bigger consignment, but I was told the rest of it had already been used. I asked why the factory managers had not noticed the state of it, but was told they had not seen any problem.”

Responding to the claims, ABP said the meat had deteriorated because it had been stored in a refrigerated lorry for three weeks under quarantine conditions and while being moved and unpacked for testing.

In a statement yesterday the company said: “The claims cited in the article [in the Guardian newspaper] that meat unfit for human consumption could have entered the food supply chain are entirely without foundation. They are based on a report of chief veterinary officer in Poland and comments by the Polish inspectors which ABP does not accept. The report fails to adequately address the significant body of evidence that suggests that Poland was the source of at least some of the meat illegally contaminated with horse.

“The meat referred to in the report was being stored under quarantine conditions following a Department of Agriculture inspection over the three weeks prior to the Polish visit. The condition of the meat and packaging in the report’s photographs are a direct result of the storage conditions, movement of the pallets, and removal of packaging for testing. Photographs or analysis of the meat’s appearance over three weeks after its removal from the supply chain cannot credibly be used to draw any conclusions about the integrity of meat stored in a properly controlled environment.”

Investigations are still continuing into the horsemeat scandal but as yet no one has been charged in Ireland in relation to the issue.