They are some of the best known food and grocery brands in the country. Tesco, Burger King, Lidl, Aldi and Findus, to name just a few, have been scrambling from one revelation to another in the wake of the horse meat scandal.
Over the past two weeks, Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, has been keen to stress that the source of the problems have not been Irish food suppliers, but rather suppliers in Poland. Polish officials rebuke this claim.
The crisis ignited in the closing months of last year when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) conducted an examination of frozen beef burger products. The first revelation came on January 11th with a Tesco burger which was deemed to contain 29% horse meat. This was the first domino, of many, to fall in the coming weeks.
The burger had been produced by Silvercrest Foods in Co. Monaghan. Results also exposed traces of equine product in burgers produced by Liffey Meats and Dalepak Hambleton in the UK. All these companies are part of ABP Food Group, which is chaired by Larry Goodman, whose business was under the spotlight during the 1990’s beef tribunal.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Goodman tackled the findings, saying “we are talking about DNA testing and DNA will pick up molecules and something in the air”.
After the findings, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and Iceland took the burgers in question out of stock.
Silvercrest suspended production at its factory on January 17th after several more samples were proven to contain horsemeat. None of the burgers made from Irish beef suppliers contained horsemeat, however.
Burger King revoked its €30 million contract with Silvercrest. Days later it discovered traces of horse meat in its beef burgers. They stated that Silvercrest had “used a small percentage of beef imported from a non-approved supplier. They promised to deliver 100% British and Irish beef patties and have not done so”.
"Somebody is selling rogue product"
On Tuesday, Coveney addressed the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture. He stated that the investigation was attempting to determine if any fraudulent actions had taken place. "Somebody is selling rogue product and somebody knows about it and is responsible,” he said.
Rangeland Foods, based in Co. Monaghan has now ceased production too, after 75% horse DNA was discovered in a sample. However, it appears that none of that product had entered the market.
In an escalation of the crisis, Findus brought a halt to the sale of its beef lasagne in Britain on Wednesday, after it was revealed that the lasagne contained up to 100% horse meat. The lasagne has been on sale in Ireland. The product is supplied by French company Comigel. Tesco took the same move as the meat for its Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese is also made at the same site.
The Food Safety Authority believes that Findus are examining their product for traces of phenylbutazone, an equine medicine. Horses using this medicine are not permitted into the food chain.
By Tuesday, Coveney had invited Polish veterinary officials to Ireland, if they wished to inspect the products. The blame game continued.
Many people are worried about the effects of the scandal on the Irish food industry as a whole.
Writing in the Irish Times on Wednesday, James Morrissey writes, “Ireland can ill-afford serious and sustained damage to its coveted international image as a green and clean food producer”.
Meanwhile, Prof Alan Reilly, chief executive of the FSAI, says that the ultimate consequences of the scandal would be "positive for consumers and for the reputation of Ireland as a producer of safe and wholesome food".
The crisis tumbles on.
