Horsemeat Found in Two British Facilities After Raids
It’s a good thing Mr. Ed is long gone, as he’d probably not have too many nice things to say about the recent UK raids of a slaughterhouse and meat processing company for selling horsemeat labeled as beef.
So far, millions of burgers and frozen meals have been recalled throughout Europe for contamination with horsemeat, according to the Huffington Post. “French authorities have already pointed to an elaborate supply chain that involved Romanian butchers and Dutch and Cypriot traders that resulted in horsemeat disguised as beef being sold in meals like lasagna and moussaka to consumers around the continent.”
And since the scandal broke, the two new raids are the first British connection to the issue, leaving the nation outraged; “It is shocking that we actually found this practice going on within the U.K.,” Environment Secretary Owen Patterson said. Food Standards Agency director Andrew Rhodes said the companies “appeared to be involved in blatant misleading of customers.” Britain’s Food Standards Agency has reportedly shut down production at the two locations, reports the Post: “Peter Boddy slaughterhouse in northern England’s Yorkshire and a company it allegedly supplied horse carcasses to, Farmbox Meats, in west Wales.” The horsemeat found in the facilities was allegedly labeled as beef for kebobs and burgers.
While France is less strict about horsemeat, which can actually be found in some butcher shops, Britian and Ireland consider it taboo, says the Huffington Post, “While no health effects have been reported, the scandal has unsettled consumers and made clear that unscrupulous dealers in the complicated network of meat wholesalers are benefiting from selling much cheaper horsemeat as beef.”
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Image: visualpanic
