Tesco launches horsemeat inquiry after withdrawn burgers found on sale
Supermarket apologises as BBC reporter buys withdrawn burger after cashier in Oxford overrides warning message
Tesco has apologised and launched an urgent investigation after one of its stores sold burgers which were meant to have been withdrawn last week amid the horsemeat contamination scare.
Britain’s largest supermarket chain acted after a BBC reporter managed to buy a packet of Tesco-brand “free from” frozen quarter pounders after a member of staff overrode an alert message on the till at a store in Cowley, Oxford.
The BBC had been tipped off by a customer that lines removed by the company as a precaution were still on sale.
Tesco said: “While this product was not implicated in the FSAI investigation, and was withdrawn as a precaution, we are urgently investigating how this product came to be on a shelf in store.
“The block on purchase at the checkout should not have been overridden. We sincerely apologise for this, and we have spoken to the store to ensure this does not happen again.”
Tests by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) found 29% equine DNA in one Tesco burger sample and traces in another. Other companies with contaminated samples were Iceland, Lidl and Aldi, although the Aldi line was not sold in Britain.
Supermarkets have also withdrawn unaffected lines made at the Silverdale plant in County Monaghan, Ireland, and Dalepak in north Yorkshire, both part of the ABP Foods group. Waitrose was the latest to do so on Friday.
In a statement, Waitrose, whose products were not tested by the Irish authorities, said its burgers had since been found to be 100% beef. “As a consequence we are 100% confident in the integrity of our supply chain,” it said. “The ingredients in our burgers are simple with all meat traceable back to British farms that we know.
“Our technical team visited the Dalepak site last week and were happy that our products were produced to our high specification and separately from other companies’ products (ours are produced at 6am, before other any other burgers).”
source: theguardian…….. James Meikle and Sam Jones
What annoys us is that the BBC have failed to explain the Link between contamination of unknown horse meat (and amazingly Pig Meat) and HALAL ABATTOIRS ! The point is that in UK Horse Passports are mandatory for ALL horses that are slaughtered – whether for human consumption or not!
Following the ‘shock discovery’ of horse meat in burgers, the Food Standards Agency has issued an assurance that the burgers ARE safe to eat.
How can they say that?
Considering that no-one knew that the horse meat was in the burgers, there is no way those horses’ passports can have been checked to ensure they were in fact destined for the food chain!
Horse Passports have 2 ‘declarations’ in them: one stating they are NOT intended for slaughter for human consumption, and one stating they ARE intended for slaughter for human consumption.
If the first Declaration is signed by the owner, the horse may be given any amount and types of drugs and medication prohibited for use in animals destined for the human food chain, such as certain anti-biotics, anti-histamines and steroidal drugs. Also, horses should not enter the human food chain within 28 days of being treated for internal parasites.
Without knowing the status of these horses’ passports, I just don’t see how anyone can issue any assurances that that horse meat is indeed safe to eat…
BOYCOTT HALAL! You know it makes sense!
EU ALERT: Horse & Pig Burgers raise fears for halal products across Europe
Horse meat in burgers ‘could be health risk’
http://www.boycotthalal.com/eu-alert-horse-and-pig-findings-in-beef-burgers-raise-fears-for-halal-products-across-europe/
It is also alarming to note that a carcinogenic drug,phenylbutozone, was in fact detected as being present, this is I believe an anti-inflammatory,which leads me to suspect these were possibly old animals sourced from a ”knackers yard” ……not a pleasant thought! …
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267403/Cancer-causing-drug-phenylbutazone-horse-meat-consumed-UK-Labour-warns-Burger-King-dumps-millions-patties.html