100% horse meat in some Findus beef lasagne!

neil_g said:
Can you imagine the outrage people would be on everyone's behalf if charities were found to be giving out "contaminated" meat.

They'd never take it, just to cover their arses.
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And that's the keyword....contaminated.

It's ridiculous. (in my opinion)
 
It's difficult to know what to make of recent claims that up to 70,000 "unwanted horses" are unaccounted for in Ireland.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Creagh said: “The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have clear evidence of an illegal trade of unfit horses from Ireland to the UK for meat, with horses being re-passported to meet demands for horse meat in mainland Europe.

“It says that there are currently 70,000 horses unaccounted for in Northern Ireland. Unwanted horses are being sold for 10 euro and being sold on for meat for 500 euro - a lucrative trade.

“It is very convenient to blame the Poles and the Romanians but so far neither country have found any problems with their beef abattoirs.”

Many horses are also believed to be contaminated with the carcinogen phenylbutazone, often referred to as bute, she said, claiming that the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson had been “incompetent”.
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http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/he...0-horses-unaccounted-for-in-ireland-1-4777089

Also, did anyone else notice how the news programmes changed their phrasing a couple of days ago from "no threat to health" to "no evidence yet to suggest a threat to health"? (It may have changed again since).
 
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Meat producers in West Yorkshire and Aberystwyth now raided over supplying horse as beef.

SOURCE
 
I wonder if the prices of horses will go up now......are they becoming an endangered species?
 
Something of a precocious child, I refused to eat processed meat or fish “products” at the age of 3 – the battles with my parents are still remembered as legendary by my relatives! I felt vindicated when the potential cause of vCJD came to light and my father (the gent who invented/discovered Ibubrofen) admitted that I might have had a point.

I was always happy to scoff a slab of recognisable flesh (provided I liked the look of it) and still am; I’m a thoroughly committed carnivore. What I object to is comminuted cheap cuts disguised. I wouldn’t eat pigs’ eyelids or bovine rectums if they were served up on a plate so I don’t wish to encounter them in a burger, sausage, luncheon meat, faggot, ready-meal or anything minced up in a factory and out of a tin. For all that I appreciate their nutritional value, I’m squeamish about organ meats but nothing goes to waste in this household and I would never throw any part of a dead animal away. Fortunately my Husband and the dog are not quite so fussy! :LOL: :puke:

During the time I lived in France I really enjoyed eating horse steak, very tender and tasty indeed; I wish I could source it in England! Would I want to eat horse lips or nostrils? No. That’s why I bought steak.

Believe me, horse meat is the least of our worries. I work for a mildly unscrupulous continental family business based in the UK and suffice it to say that they don’t hesitate to import and supply condemned meat and meet with no problems from whatever Government body in doing so. If you live in the Midlands, think twice about ordering beef satay from a Chinese takeaway, that’s all I will say! Choose the king prawns, they cannot be disguised!!

I buy all my meat from the local butcher who slaughters 2 cows, 3 pigs and 5 sheep each week in the abattoir behind the shop on Friday mornings. The animals travel no further than 5 miles and from farmers who the butcher has dealt with for many years. Sometimes a little too much information, but he usually gives you the farmer’s name and ear tag number of the animal. Not eaten chicken in years as the shoots hereabouts provide me with partridge, pheasant and pigeon in return for photos.

Apart from the Trades Descriptions issue, I can’t see any problem with eating horse or donkey meat (kangaroo will be the next scandal – remember where you heard it first :wave:) but I believe that condemned meat is something to be concerned about.
 
Good post Alison but many folk cannot afford butchers prices and so,buy processed meat. How do the less well off buy meat that has not been processed?

In my town we are lucky to have a couple of good butchers, a huge supermarket and one decent beef farmer who sells his own through his farm shop. We also have a Costco nearby that does incredible deals on 'large pack' meat.

My experience is that the famous butcher (Rick Steins food heroes) is the most expensive but the beef is incredible, he can even tell you the name of the animal it came from. the farm shop is superb and he has a passion for his job but again a touch on the higher price side. the Costco butcher counter has great labels of Angus etc but you generally have to buy in bulk but can be good value if you were freezing the meat or buying it as a community type buy. Now the supermarket is definitely the cheapest and also carries Angus etc ......you are able to get real bargains if you can time it right but few chances and usually it is gone by the time the working person gets to store. Their meat is ok but comes with the visible post box red selling colour. They definitely sell 'expensive' cuts that are not up to standard of a butchers cut but the problem is the cost and most poorer folk cannot see past the quality aspect versus cost.
 
Alison said:
I work for a mildly unscrupulous continental family business based in the UK and suffice it to say that they don’t hesitate to import and supply condemned meat and meet with no problems from whatever Government body in doing so.
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So are you saying that the Government Body know what your company is doing and do nothing, or that they just don't get to know about the condemned meat ... and if the latter have you ever informed the Government Body of what is being done?
 
Now is the time to bubble them up while there are all the other investigations going on!
 
gramps said:
So are you saying that the Government Body know what your company is doing and do nothing, or that they just don't get to know about the condemned meat ... and if the latter have you ever informed the Government Body of what is being done?
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Is it really going to surprise anyone to hear that a government body is aware of wrongdoing and fails to act.
 
tiler65 said:
I wonder if the prices of horses will go up now......are they becoming an endangered species?
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Iam hoping the price of dog food comes down as there must be a lot of excess if beef burgers now have to have beef in them:D
 
tiler65 said:
……How do the less well off buy meat that has not been processed? …….
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I do understand what you’re saying Tiler but can assure you (sadly!) that I am far from wealthy. I am thrifty though, adept at “cutting according to my cloth” and can make small amounts of cheap cuts of meat which are acceptable to me stretch a very long way.

Committed carnivore or not, I have to accept that my budget won’t run to meat or fish which meets my standards every day of the week so then I prepare vegetarian food instead and it is always, without exception, delicious.

I’d choose a good veggie dinner over a poor meat based ready-meal every time and also know which is nutritionally superior. Whilst I appreciate that people lead busy lives, it takes no more time or effort to knock up an omelette than it does to fry a frozen crispy pancake out of a packet.

Yes, I’d be able to afford to eat a little more meat if I bought it from the supermarket but prefer to eat slightly less of a higher quality and buy from my butcher. It’s totally traceable, the welfare standards are second to none and I’m happy that no “mistakes” are made in the stunning and slaughtering process, something which can happen in larger scale production line style operations. I’m pleased that my butchers (elderly father and his two middle-aged sons) treat the animals they kill on my behalf professionally and with respect.

arclight said:
Is it really going to surprise anyone to hear that a government body is aware of wrongdoing and fails to act.
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Quite :shake:
 
Again Alison, I have no beef (sorry it is a trait of mine) with what you are saying, it is that your ideal will not and can not work for everyone - especially the uneducated in home economics (not cookery classes from school!)
 
arclight said:
Is it really going to surprise anyone to hear that a government body is aware of wrongdoing and fails to act.
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Possibly more so that someone would have knowledge of condemned meat entering the food chain and do nothing about it!
 
"Bute" in horses from Britain is now known to have got into the food chain in France.

This situation will get worse.
 
A spokesperson on BBC news just said you'd have to eat 100 bute-tainted burgers to get a level of bute that would have an effect.

Casts a whole new light on those old Bad Manners records, though. Explains a lot! ;-)
 
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I'd be quite pee'd up to be honest. As a practicing Muslim horsemeat is forbidden but I think it may not have found its way onto my plate as all supermarket/frozen meat products are off limits. Any meat we buy is handslaughtered in the UK and is tracked through to the butcher. However, it is absolutely plausible that the labelling and source can be forged by the wholesaler or the butcher.

I don't mind if other people are happy with horsemeat, I just find the dishonesty appalling and like others have said, the supervision and quality control leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Anyone else see the news yesterday? They had a disguised hoodlum describing the process he and his chums have employed for years to buy horses that are on their last legs from God knows who and not fit for human consumption, give them fake passports, microchips and enough drugs so they can at least stand up during transportation and walk a bit, and sell them for meat to a UK abbatoir.

Mmmm, sounds delish! :puke:

http://www.thedabber.co.uk/?p=1262
 
Thankfully I haven't eaten any red meat for years but all the "so what it's only horse meat and it's been eaten for years" protestations are sounding more hollow as the days pass.
 
gramps said:
Thankfully I haven't eaten any red meat for years but all the "so what it's only horse meat and it's been eaten for years" protestations are sounding more hollow as the days pass.
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Yes, although I can understand their naivety to a degree - people have become generally very (too?) trusting when it comes to mass produced food and not everyone realises the dodgery they're exposed to when criminal elements become involved in their food production.

I'm sure there will be some that still think everything's just peachy, but such is life. How does that saying go? You can take a horse to water...
 
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ZoneV said:
Yes, although I can understand their naivety to a degree - people have become generally very (too?) trusting when it comes to mass produced food and not everyone realises the dodgery they're exposed to when criminal elements become involved in their food production.

I'm sure there will be some that still think everything's just peachy, but such is life. How does that saying go? You can take a horse to water...
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I think you are probably correct. All very well testing for horse meat in products, but what else could be in there that is not being tested for (yet).
 
Here's a link to the report on the BBC news website, including a video of the interview with the chap who claims to have been involved in the dodgery.

"BBC uncovers criminal conspiracy to smuggle horses into UK."

"Some of them weren't in the best condition so to stimulate them and get them up on their feet again you'd give them certain... cortisone and bute to make them look healthier. If a horse had a heartbeat and could walk on its four legs, it would stand up on that lorry until we got to England."
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