BEUC: “Horsegate” One Year On: EU Promises Fall Flat

30 Jan 2014 --- One year after it was revealed horsemeat had been sold as beef in readymade lasagne, questions remain as to the pace at which the EU converts words of reassurance into deeds.

In response to the large-scale fraud promises were made of enhanced control and penalty measures to prevent a repeat and ensure genuine food authenticity, which was the crux of the horsemeat scandal.

The European Commission published its commitments in an Action Plan in March 2013. Apart from testing, the three main measures are either on hold or still in debate.

Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation, commented: "The horsemeat scandal was a wake-up call, one which put food fraud on Europe's radar. These incidents were only the latest in a long line, which shows the current system is too permissive.”

"The measures announced by the Commission to better shield consumers from food fraud have changed nothing on the ground. One year on, another 'horsegate' could easily make the headlines tomorrow.”

"Consumer confidence in the food sector continues to reel, but greater transparency of our food chain is the remedy. Clearer labels and tougher controls need to be enacted to make manufacturers more liable for what they put in our food.

"We need higher financial penalties for those businesses who take risks, while independent inspections should remain the norm.

"Last month, meat from lab horses used to produce vaccines entered the food chain in France. Events like this prove fraud remains prevalent, yet many Member States continue to slash food control budgets. Food label checks in the UK dropped by 16.2% as a result of such cutbacks.

"By piling up arguments against origin labelling for processed meals, the Commission has ignored the 90% of consumers who want to know where their meat comes from.

"Everyone, from industry to consumers, can gain from a stricter, clearer and more trustworthy food supply chain. It is the right time to act, so what is the EU waiting for?"

The news came as the FSA published the third quarterly report of industry results from the testing of beef products for horse meat or horse DNA. No results found horse meat/DNA at or above the 1% reporting threshold. The report includes 6,069 new results, of which 3,333 were submitted by ABP Food Group.

These figures include all test results submitted since the compilation of the second quarterly report, which was published in October 2013.

The food industry has continued to test beef products for the presence of horse meat/DNA during the three months since the previous quarterly update. A total of 38,473 beef results tested for horse meat/DNA have been submitted by industry to the FSA since 15 February 2013. Of these, 47 were positive.

An extensive programme of testing by UK industry and local authorities started in February 2013, at the request of the FSA. These tests were carried out to check that beef products on sale or supplied into the UK food chain were accurately labelled and did not contain horse meat/DNA, following the discovery of horse meat being used as beef in a range of food products sold across Europe.