Horsemeat Scandal: Birds Eye Withdraws Product, New Round of FSA Testing Reveals Majority of Products Match Labels

Birds Eye has announced that it is withdrawing a number of beef products in the UK as a precautionary measure, after a product sold in Belgium tested positive for horse DNA. The company said that its Chilli Con Carne, produced by Frigilunch NV has tested positive for horse DNA and has been withdrawn from sale in Belgium.

25 Feb 2013 ---  It said as a precautionary measure in the UK and Ireland, it will withdraw all other beef products produced by the same supplier: Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese 340g, Shepherd’s Pie 400g and Beef Lasagne 400g.

Birds Eye has apologised to consumers, stating that there is no evidence from its DNA testing and audit programme that any other Birds Eye products are mislabelled. The company said it has introduced an ongoing DNA testing programme and has enhanced its quality assurance procedures.

The news came as the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has received the second set of test results from the food industry, which has been checking for the presence of horse DNA in products that are labelled as beef.

The main results from the food industry's own tests are as follows:

The overwhelming majority, 3599 (over 99%), of tests contained no horse DNA at or above the level of 1%.

35 results, representing 13 products, contained horse DNA at or above the 1% threshold. These products have already been named and withdrawn from sale.

Overall, there have been 3634 results received from a range of manufacturers, retailers, caterers and wholesalers throughout the UK. This includes the 1133 new results published today that show six further products containing horse DNA, since the first set of industry results was announced last week.

No tests to date on samples containing horse DNA have found the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone (bute).

There have been and continue to be instances where food businesses have withdrawn products due to trace contamination levels, or on a precautionary basis; for example, where they have been produced by manufacturers that have supplied other products found to be contaminated with horse DNA.

The FSA's main focus at this point is on gross contamination of beef products with the substitution of horse meat, where there is more than 1% horse DNA detected in a product. The Agency believes that such levels of horse DNA indicate either gross negligence or deliberate substitution of one meat for another.

The major trade organisations, representing the businesses carrying out the testing, have provided estimates of the percentage of tests completed to date. Retailers inform us that they have completed approximately 90% of tests; manufacturers, caterers and wholesalers indicate they have completed around 80% of their tests. This includes all the major suppliers to schools, hospitals and other public institutions. A further update of industry testing results will be published next Friday.

The FSA is able to confirm information regarding two further tests that have found horse DNA, which have been detected by industry prior to the formal testing programme or through other testing and investigations by the Agency and by local authorities.

The FSA’s own formal sampling programme is already well under way and being carried out by local authorities across the UK. This programme will provide further validation of the testing carried out by the food industry.

This programme includes minced beef products, such as burgers and sausages, and also ready-meals where beef is an ingredient. We expect to be in a position to release the initial findings from this sampling in early March.

Additionally, as part of the work going on across Europe, the UK has been asked to take 150 samples that are labelled as containing beef or indicate they contain beef, such as minced meat and meat products (e.g. burgers, pies and ready meals) for sale at retail, wholesale and catering outlets.

A cross-Government group is finalising the protocol and details of products to be sampled, to ensure we provide a representative sample, covering a variety of products. Samples will not include gelatine, as indications from the Commission are that this is out of scope.

Twenty-four local authorities across the UK are being recruited to carry out the sampling for this survey work (different from the 28 LAs undertaking the previous surveys) and the samples will be tested by Public Analysts.

Sampling will start on 25 February and results from the analysis will be sent to the Commission in early April 2013.

Commenting on the industry results, FSA Chief Executive Catherine Brown said: 'The overwhelming majority of results, over 99%, have come back negative for the presence of horse DNA above the threshold of 1% - which is reassuring for consumers.

'However, our work is far from done. The sampling programme being carried out by local authorities on behalf of the FSA is already well under way and we expect to report the initial findings from that work in early March.

'We are also committed to pursuing enforcement action where we can, to ensure that those who were at fault take full responsibility for their actions. We are determined to get to the bottom of this to find out exactly what happened - and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.'

Following the Food Standards Agency’s second publication of industry test results of beef products for the presence of horse DNA, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: “It’s unacceptable for any products to be marked as beef, when they also contain horsemeat. Thankfully these results show that the vast majority of products on our shelves match what’s on the label.”

“Food businesses from throughout the industry, including retailers, manufacturers, caterers and other wholesalers, are putting enormous effort into getting this testing completed as quickly as possible. It’s an important first step from them in rebuilding the certainty and trust that consumers deserve.”

“There is more work to be done to find out exactly how this happened and how to make the system much stronger. I will continue to insist on concrete, coordinated action right across Europe when I meet European agriculture ministers on Monday.”