In the wake of a publication conducted by the Food Standards Authority of Ireland, which discovered traces of other animals in beef burger patties on sale in Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland, more major retailers have begun to remove lines of beef-burgers from their shelves.

image expired

FSAI revealed yesterday that that it had found samples of horsemeat constituting up to 29 percent of meat in beef-burgers on sale in Tesco in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The burgers in question were produced at two sites in Ireland and one in North Yorkshire.

Although they were not named in the FSAI's report, in the wake of yesterday's revelation supermarket giants Sainsbury's and Asda began recalling burgers sold in their stores. It is understood that the burgers are sourced from the same supplier implicated in the scandal. Asda said it is recalling products from the supplier "as a precaution".

Consumer confidence has been dented since FSAI's findings came to light, and the upset has sparked the ire of farmers, who claim to have "jumped through hoops" to comply with strict regulations on traceability, only to have been let down by large retailers and processors.

Meat processing giant ABP, which owns the opprobrious processors Silvercrest, Liffey and Dalepak Hambleton, has suggested it may take legal action against its suppliers in continental Europe, which it claims are responsible for the contamination; FSAI investigators revealed in their report that the meat in question could have come from the Netherlands and Spain.

In addition to the industry response, a Defra spokesperson said that consumers may have been misled by inaccurate labelling, contravening strict labelling laws.

The spokesperson said, "Defra is working with the Food Standards Agency to urgently investigate how a number of beef products on sale in the UK and Republic of Ireland were found to contain horse and pig meat," adding that, once the source of contamination is established, the department will take "appropriate enforcement action."

Suggesting that the horse-burger scandal may be more of a systemic problem than has been generally accepted, Professor Tim Lang of the UK Centre for Food Policy at London's City University, stated, "Horse meat in beefburgers suggests failings in corporate food governance." On Wednesday, the professor said that pressure to produce cheap foods, replacing high value products such as beef, along with a 'light touch' to regulation were behind the incidence.

Professor Lang added that it is fortunate there are no public health implications; however, he warned that next time this may not be the case if costs and standards of food safety frameworks continue to be cut.