Horsemeat scandal: Focus switches to Romania

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Horsemeat scandal: Government 'flat-footed' over crisis

The government's response to the horsemeat scandal has been criticised as "flat-footed" by a group of MPs.

They have called for greater testing of products to reassure people there is not a threat to human health.

The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee also said that if criminals were illegally passing off horsemeat as beef they were unlikely to be applying adequate hygiene standards.

Ministers insist there is no evidence of a risk to health.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21455060
 
Horsemeat scandal: Bute found in eight UK-slaughtered horses

Eight horses, killed in the UK, tested positive for the painkiller bute and six may have entered the food chain in France, the Food Standards Agency said.

Some 206 carcasses were tested, with eight found to contain phenylbutazone.

England's chief medical officer said the highest level detected was 1.9mg of bute per kg of horsemeat, which posed "very little risk to human health".

Earlier, food minister David Heath said tests for traces of bute in Findus products were negative.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21455419
 
Beef removed from Staffordshire school menus

Beef has been removed from school meals across Staffordshire as a precautionary measure amid the horsemeat scandal.

The county council, which provides meals to 87% of its schools, said there was no suggestion there had been a problem with contamination.

In the meantime, pupils are being served other meats such as turkey.

The county council said the move was a precaution and added "normal school menus" were likely to return after next week's half-term break.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-21458671
 
Is there any chance that rump steak will come down in price🙄
 
Horsemeat scandal: France blames processor Spanghero

French meat processing company Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef, the French government has said.

Spanghero's licence is being suspended while a probe continues, agriculture minister Stephane Le Foll said.

The firm has denied the allegations, saying it only ever dealt in meat it believed to be beef.

A widening scandal over mislabelled horsemeat has affected at least 12 European countries.

Spanghero imported meat from Romania and sold it on to another company, Comigel, which made frozen ready meals at its factory in Luxembourg.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21464052
 
Three held in horsemeat mislabelling investigation

Police investigating allegations that horsemeat was mislabelled as beef have arrested three men.

Dyfed-Powys Police said two men, aged 64 and 42, were held at Farmbox Meats Ltd, of Llandre near Aberystwyth, on suspicion of Fraud Act offences.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21466074
 
Horse passports: up to 7,000 unauthorised documents issued

The BBC has learned that up to 7,000 illicit horse passports have been in circulation in the UK since 2008.

The documents were issued by an equine society after the government had withdrawn its right to grant passports, sources have said.

It has led to confusion at abattoirs when some of the animals were sent for slaughter.

Campaigners say it highlights the fact that the passport system is chaotic and subject to widespread abuse.

The horse passport system was introduced in 2005 in response to an EU directive aimed at ensuring animals destined for the food chain were drug-free.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21430330
 
Horsemeat scandal: Burgers withdrawn from hospitals

Burgers containing horsemeat have been supplied to hospitals in Northern Ireland.

David Bingham from the Business Services Organisation, which sources meat for the health trusts, said that one range, supplied by a company in the Republic of Ireland was affected and had been withdrawn.

"We have acted immediately as soon as we got information there may be a confidence issue we withdrew the product," he said.

Northern Ireland's agriculture minister Michelle O'Neill has called a special meeting on the horsemeat scandal.

A number of other executive ministers, including Justice Minister David Ford are to attend the briefing on Friday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21469738
 
Horsemeat scandal: FSA hands evidence to Europol

Evidence seized from three UK premises as part of the horsemeat investigation has been handed to Europol.

Food Standards Agency (FSA) officers and police took computers, documents and meat samples from two premises in north London and one in Hull on Friday.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the government had reacted too slowly to the crisis, but Defra said that was "utterly wrong and misleading".

Three men arrested as part of the horsemeat probe have been bailed.

The men, two aged 64 and 42 from the Aberystwyth area and one aged 63 from West Yorkshire, were arrested on 14 February on suspicion of fraud.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21486291
 
Iceland boss blames councils over 'poor meat quality'

Local councils are to blame for driving down food quality with cheap food contracts for schools and hospitals, the boss of Iceland has said.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, Malcolm Walker said the "problem really lies" with councils buying food from the poorly supplied catering industry.

Retailers should not be blamed for the horsemeat crisis, Mr Walker added.

His comments followed a call on Sunday from the boss of Waitrose for tighter meat testing controls.

Iceland was among UK retailers, including Tesco, Asda, Lidl and Aldi which withdrew products which were later found to test positive for horse DNA.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21490004
 
Horsemeat scandal: Dutch uncover large-scale meat fraud

Some 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two Dutch trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.

The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.

There was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said.

In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.

The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22098763
 
Horsemeat scandal: Review urges UK food crime unit

A specialist food crime unit should be set up in the UK in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, a government-commissioned review has recommended.

The suggestion is contained in a report by Prof Chris Elliott, director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast.

He was asked to find ways of improving the safety of UK food supply networks.

The scandal erupted in January, when food inspectors found horsemeat in processed beef products.

After that initial discovery, horse DNA was then found in other ready meals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25347633
 
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