Criminal Intent Suspected as UK Horsemeat Scandal Deepens

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson following the meeting with food businesses stated: “I called the major retailers and food distributers in today to agree a clear plan of urgent action to deal with the problem of horsemeat in processed beef products. It’s totally unacceptable that customers have been buying products labelled beef, but which turn out to be horse. I told them I expected to see meaningful results from the testing they’re currently carrying out on their products by the end of the week.”

11 Feb 2013 --- The investigation into meat contamination has taken an EU-wide dimension as British investigators found evidence of "gross negligence or possibly criminality" involving several countries. The Food Standards Agency (FSA), a British government body, held a meeting on Saturday (9 February) with UK regulators and food industry representatives in the ongoing contaminated meat incident.

"This is a conspiracy against the public," said British Environment Secretary Owen Paterson before convening the weekend meeting. "I've got an increasing feeling that it is actually a case of an international criminal conspiracy."French officials tracing the contamination of the Findus beef lasagne said a Luxembourg factory had been supplied by the French firm Poujol, which had bought the meat frozen from a Cypriot trader, who in turn had subcontracted the order to a Dutch trader supplied by a Romanian abattoir.

Following Friday's meeting between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Food Standards Agency, and representatives from the food industry regarding the ongoing contaminated meat incident, it has been agreed that the industry will deliver meaningful results from its testing programme by Friday 15 February.

It has also been agreed that initial tests will focus on the areas of most concern, but that all products will be tested as part of the programme and all results reported.

Defra and the FSA have demanded more authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beefburgers, meatballs and lasagne, and for industry to provide the results to the FSA.

At the meeting, there was also a commitment for the FSA and the food industry to work together to identify the best points in the supply chain to test as part of the ongoing programme and to publish regular reports of test results. The FSA will meet again with industry representatives on Monday to agree this and other technical points.

The FSA remains the lead investigating authority and there is currently no police investigation. However, the FSA and police are working closely and the police will be involved if the evidence suggests a level of criminality within the UK that the police should deal with. The most recent information regarding Aldi and Findus does suggest gross negligence or possibly criminality, and the FSA are working closely with the French authorities as part of the investigation. Europol are also aware of our investigations.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson following the meeting with food businesses stated: “I called the major retailers and food distributers in today to agree a clear plan of urgent action to deal with the problem of horsemeat in processed beef products. It’s totally unacceptable that customers have been buying products labelled beef, but which turn out to be horse. I told them I expected to see meaningful results from the testing they’re currently carrying out on their products by the end of the week.”

“People should have absolute confidence in what they are buying. The responsibility for that lies with the retailers, who need to be absolutely sure that what they’re selling is what they think it is. We agreed that more and tougher testing will take place. I asked them to agree to publish test results every three months through the Food Standards Agency. I made it very clear that there needs to be openness and transparency in the system for the benefit of consumers.”

“The retailers and industry bodies agreed to my proposal that they work with the FSA on making checks further down the food chain. They have also agreed to let the FSA know as soon they become aware of a potential problem in their products.”

“I told the meeting that the food industry needed to get out there and talk about what they’re doing, so that people can have confidence in the products they’re selling.

“Investigations into how these products came to be on British shelves are underway. I am determined that we get to the bottom of this and that any wrongdoing discovered is punished.”

Responding to the latest findings the FSA issued a further statement about the horse meat issue on Friday. “This is a very serious issue. The evidence we have about the two cases, of the significant amount of horse meat in burgers and lasagne, points to either gross negligence or deliberate contamination in the food chain. This is why we have already involved the police, both here and in Europe.”

“We believe that these two particular cases - the frozen burgers from Tesco and the lasagne from Findus - are linked to suppliers in Ireland and France respectively. We are working closely with the authorities in these countries to get to the root of the problem. Our priority remains to protect UK consumers. People have been asking whether it is safe to eat any frozen meat products at the moment. There is no reason to suspect that there’s any health issue with frozen food in general, and we wouldn’t advise people to stop eating it.”

“In the particular cases of the Findus lasagne and the Tesco burgers, they have been withdrawn from sale. Anyone who has them in their freezer should return them to retailers as a precaution. In addition to the widespread testing we are doing, we’ve instructed the industry to urgently carry out its own tests on processed beef products to see whether horsemeat is present.”

The Food Standards Agency also issued interim advice to public institutions, such as schools and hospitals, caterers, and consumers purchasing from caterers, in the light of the developing horse meat issue.