Irish company kept discovery of horse meat in beef secret
15 Mar 2013
A major Irish food company kept its discovery of horse meat in beef products secret last summer and also supplied the contaminated meat found in school meals and Birds Eye products.
Ireland agriculture minister Simon Coveney has slammed QK Meats' "inexcusable" delay in notifying his department of its discovery of horse DNA in imported meat until weeks after the Europe-wide crisis broke.
Coveney criticised QK Meats, for "knowingly withholding information about problems in the supply chain". He also slammed the management at the ABP food group for failing to maintain proper oversight of its Silvercrest plant and warned that QK and ABP were "risking reputational damage to the Irish food sector itself".
He further revealed that Ossory Meats in Co Offaly had had its operations suspended after investigators found irregular paperwork for 25 horses that were brought to slaughter last Friday, which included two older horses being passed off as yearlings.
According to the department's report, as far back as last June, QK Meats had discovered horse DNA in beef trimmings imported from Poland -- and in total found horse meat in seven out of nine consignments DNA-tested between June 2012 and January 2013.
It has now been two months since the Food Safety Authority of Ireland informed the public that horse meat had been found in frozen beef burgers.