Horse Meat Found In Burgers In U.K. and Ireland

Horse DNA was recently discovered in frozen burger patties produced in Ireland and the U.K. that were being sold in four major supermarket chains.

The discovery of the horse DNA was made by The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). According to their findings, the burgers were produced by the Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods processing plants in Ireland, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in the U.K. The suspect burgers have been sold in the Aldi, Iceland, Lidl and Tesco supermarket chains.

In the sampling done by the FSAI, 9 of the 10 burgers tested contained relatively low (although still unacceptable) levels of horse DNA. The tenth sample contained a shocking 29% of horse meat relative to beef content. And horse meat was not the only unpleasant discovery in the beef patties. Pig DNA was also discovered in over two-thirds of the tested sample; this is especially problematic for those who abstain from pig meat for religious reasons.

As of yet, there is no certain answer as to why traces of horse and pig DNA found their way into beef burgers. It's been hypothesized by a spokesman for Dalepak Hambleton that the DNA came from a minor ingredient used in making the burgers – although such a simplistic explanation would not account for the burger containing 29% horse meat.

According to FSAI's director of consumer protection Raymond Ellard, there is no "evidence of some widespread subterfuge where someone is trying to substitute horse meat for beef." Phew? A bigger relief, at least in the short term, is that the trace amounts of horse and pig DNA will not pose any health threats to those who have ingested it, according to Alan Reilly, chief executive of the FSAI. Furthermore, anyone who has purchased the implicated products can return them if they don't have a taste for horses.

While the investigation into the production facilities is ongoing, U.K. supermarket chains Tesco and Iceland have issued statements reassuring their customers that they will not sell the products under suspicion until there is conclusive evidence that the problems in production have been rectified. –Chelsea Regan

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