Horsemeat found in beef burgers on sale in UK and Ireland

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: BBC

Horse DNA has been found in some beef burgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has said.

The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire.

It said there was no risk to health.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21034942

[Buzz Clik]

1. "no risk to health". In some countries, horse is the primary meat. I don't see a problem here.

[Ed Suspicious]

2. You don't see a problem in paying for cow and receiving horse? Maybe you'd like to buy my Jaguar and

be ok with it when I ship you my Ford Pinto in it's place.

[Buzz Clik]

6. Damn. Do you know what's in burgers? Horse meat would be the least of my concerns.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

16. Yes.

Beef. Because I trust who I buy it from.

[Javaman]

29. And just who might that be? nt

[ForgoTheConsequence]

37. The rancher is my "neighbor".

And the processor is a friend of the family.

[Javaman]

39. Excellent! that's the way to do it. :)

Cheers.

I get mine from a local rancher who also happens to raise is own feed.

A little foot work goes a long way.

[dixiegrrrrl]

42. Our beef went to the butcher last week.

Local beef from local cattleman.
So, now we have our own organic chickens and eggs, beef and vegies.

I think more and more people are starting to realize that commercial meat is very iffy.

[kestrel91316]

3. People have the absolute human right to know what they are eating so they can make

an informed decision to eat it or not, based on their personal values.

[Buzz Clik]

7. True. And I agree with the "truth in advertising" below.

But I'm not outraged about horse being in my crapburger.

[Bette Noir]

4. Truth in advertising.

There are a large # of people with cultural proscriptions against eating horse (*cough* Americans *cough*), and there are those who are allergic. No one has the right to mislead another person about what they are eating.

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. From the article:

"In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger," Professor Reilly added.

[Buzz Clik]

8. Yeah, ok.

So the Irish have an aversion to horse. I don't. Well, I do, but I wouldn't get all weird if somebody put horse in my hamburger.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Horce racing and breeding are popular in Ireland.

They don't eat dog either.

[Buzz Clik]

10. Horses are very popular in Kazakhstan.

In the paddock and in a patty.

[greatauntoftriplets]

12. Buzkashi also is popular with Kazahks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

Not so in Ireland.

[Buzz Clik]

13. Just sayin' you can love horses and love to eat them.

Damned Irish are so sentimental about their pets.

[greatauntoftriplets]

15. Hey!! I'm part Irish.

And sentimental about animals. It's good I don't live on a farm.

[AngryAmish]

30. so true

[jberryhill]

26. Sheep are popular in New Zealand

But they eat them.

[T_i_B]

41. The problem is that it's meant to to be a BEEFburger

As such it should not have horse in it.

I would happily eat horsemeat. I've eaten impala, zebra & wildebeest sausages in the past. However, I want to know what animal it is that I'm eating. For me it's the fact that it's been sold under false pretences that's an issue.

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. Turns out it also has PORK in it.

That is a serious problem for people who cannot eat pork.

Of 27 beefburgers tested, 10 – equating to 37 per cent - tested positive for horse DNA and 85 per cent positive for pig DNA. In one sample of Tesco Everyday Value Beef Burgers, horsemeat comprised 29 per cent of the stated beef content.

A further analysis of 31 beef products including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne showed that 21, two-thirds, contained pig DNA.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/alarming-breach-of-controls-experts-blame-deliberate-swindle-by-foreign-suppliers-for-horsemeat-burgers-scandal-8454402.html

[T_i_B]

44. Yes, that is just as bad

However, it's the horse that everyone in the UK is picking up on.

[Smilo]

11. There was probably no risk to health -

many countries accept horse meat as the norm.

I think we get sentimental over the animals we believe are our "pets" as opposed to those we can eat.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. I have no problems...

with the consumption of horse or dog. But when something is labeled beef, it should be beef.

[dhol82]

14. just ate some horsemeat in mongolia

was on a tour and at one of the lunch stops they served horse meat cutlets. not really very tasty and kind of tough. first, and only, time i have ever tried it. don't think i will ever find the need to try it again.

on the other hand - had some yak meat in lhasa and it was really yummy.

[madokie]

18. In France they eat horse

I'm not sure the red meat and potato's we had in our C-rations weren't horse meat

[MADem]

20. They do in Italy as well--less popular these days than it was way back when.

I've never eaten it (knowingly, anyway...).

[panzerfaust]

28. When I was a kid horsemeat was, except for Spam, about the only meat we could afford.

Oh, and the rabbits my stepfather shot, when he was not too drunk to go hunting.

My mom got, besides regularly being beaten, tularemia from an infected rabbit and nearly died of the infection.



Horsemeat is very likely safer to eat than beef. A quick look at the CDC website does show a very few cases of toxoplasmosis and trichinosis from undercooked horsemeat. Safer, by far, than beef or pork.

These days do not eat much meat - then only beef, chicken and rarely venison.

No Spam at all.

[MADem]

35. Well, it isn't a factory farmed product. A lot of it ends up in dog food.

People don't like the idea of eating Trigger, Black Beauty, Secretariat, etc.

It's like eating Lassie or Rover. All down to culture, certainly.

There are people in USA who will not eat rabbit because they are too cute. It's not as popular here as in Europe and elsewhere. Though in some corners you can find people who will eat squirrel, snake, etc.

If they're going to make frankenfood, they should figure out a way to clone a quality steak that won't screw a person up--that's the future, I'm thinking.

[MADem]

19. Neigh!!!!!! NEIGH!!!!!! Say it isn't so!!!

This is an argument for grinding one's own burgers, if one is a big burger eater!

[AzDar]

21. Galloping Gourmet?

[MADem]

36. Touche!

[Historic NY]

22. Well they can serve unicorn.....

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e5a7/

[GaYellowDawg]

23. No such thing as Mad Horse Disease...

... so it might actually make British burgers healthier.

[bitchkitty]

24. Horsemeat is the least of their worries.

If I did eat meat, I would buy a chuck roast and grind it at home. At least then you'd know that it came from one animal, and that the animal was in fact a cow.

God only knows how many cows/horses/rodents/roaches or what kind of filth is in that shit - makes you gag to think about it!

[Dustlawyer]

25. We would never know it here! In a country that only "smell" tests it's seafood and calls that

"...the most rigorous testing in the world!", I can only imagine what our beef, pork, and poultry testing is like. Go figure.

[littlemissmartypants]

27. DNA tests find "disturbingly widespread" seafood fraud

http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2011/05/dna-tests-find-disturbingly-widespread-seafood-fraud.html

If you've long suspected that the "mahi-mahi" on your plate may really be yellowtail, you now have science on your side: Researchers with the non-profit group Oceana have harnessed the power of forensic science to confirm that as much as half of all seafood sold in the U.S. is mislabeled.

"Results from our DNA lab show that about half the time the fish you are eating is not the species listed on the menu," said DNA tester William Gergits. The group accuses the industry of "seafood fraud," and is calling on the federal government to step in to more tightly regulate fisheries and related businesses.

[Javaman]

31. Did you happen to listen to "This American Life" this past week?

They were talking about "artificial Calamari" and how it's actually pig "bung".

[Historic NY]

33. Chitlins.....it more myth

http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2013/01/myth_of_artificial_calamari_ex.html

http://oceana.org/en/news-media/publications/reports/widespread-seafood-fraud-found-in-new-york-city

[Javaman]

34. Well that's good to hear...

It's bad enough that many varieties of fish are being falsely passed off as another type, I'm glad I'm not eating pig...well, you know.

[Myrina]

32. .. no risk to human health. Horses worldwide, on the other hand, are worried ...

C'mon people, the time for vegetarianism is here.
We can't sustain our planet or our health by living/eating the way we do.

[AlphaCentauri]

38. Haven't eaten a horse burger in a long time

lol

[T_i_B]

40. Apparently traces of Unicorn have been found in Waitrose burgers.

[Coyotl]

45. obviously NOT beef bugers, much healthier than beef, less fat

I love horsemeat!

[Undaunted]

46. Horse is absolutely delicious.

Not sure if I'd want it in my beef, however.

[PoliticAverse]

47. Followup: Horse DNA in burgers may have come from additives

Finger of suspicion now points at suppliers of high-protein powders based in the Netherlands and Spain

The Tesco burgers that contained up to 29% equine DNA were likely to have been made with high-protein powders derived from horse rather than fresh meat, the Guardian has been told.

The main focus of efforts to trace the source of adulteration in the Tesco economy burgers has now shifted from the meat itself to additives used in the manufacturing process. The Irish processors ABP have pointed the finger at suppliers of the "beef ingredient products" it uses to make cheap burgers. The Tesco burgers were only 63% meat and 37% other ingredients.

Economy burgers are typically bulked out with additive mixes of concentrated proteins extracted from animal carcasses and offcuts. Industry sources said the 29% horse DNA was more likely to have originated with these high-protein powders from rendered horses rather than any fresh horse meat. ABP declined to comment on its ingredients or on the companies it uses for additive mixes but they are believed to be in the Netherlands and Spain. The processor said it had stopped work at its Silvercrest Foods plant in Co Monaghan, Ireland, until further notice.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/17/horse-dna-burger-additives

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. eww

[littlemissmartypants]

49. Totem