Horsemeat Scandal in Britain

Swedish frozen-food company Findus withdrew all its beef lasagna ready meals from supermarkets after tests revealed they contained up to 100% horsemeat. But the investigation took an EU-wide dimension as British investigators found evidence of "gross negligence or possibly criminality" involving several countries.

Findus was supplied by a company based in northeastern France called Comigel, which makes similar products for food suppliers and retailers in 16 countries. The Findus products revealed to contain horsemeat in the UK came from a Comigel factory in Luxembourg. Comigel in turn was supplied with meat from a company in southwestern France called Spanghero, whose parent is called Poujol.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), a British government body, held a meeting on Saturday (9 February) with UK regulators and food industry representatives in the ongoing contaminated meat incident.The most recent information regarding the supermarket chain Aldi and Swedish frozen foods business Findus, the FSA said in a statement, "does suggest gross negligence or possibly criminality, and we are working closely with the French authorities as part of the investigation

On Saturday Feb 9,2013, the FSA ordered the food industry to provide authenticity tests by 15 February on all beef products, such as beefburgers, meatballs and lasagne

The FSA has said there is no evidence to suggest the horsemeat detected in beef products poses a danger to humans, but confirmed that tests have been ordered for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone as animals treated with "bute" are not allowed to enter the food chain.

French officials tracing the contamination of the Findus beef lasagne said a Luxembourg factory had been supplied by the French firm Poujol, which had bought the meat frozen from a Cypriot trader, who in turn had subcontracted the order to a Dutch trader supplied by a Romanian abattoir.

"This is a conspiracy against the public," said British farm minister Owen Paterson.

Horsemeat scandal spreads across Europe

French ministers and food industry chiefs are to hold an emergency meeting on Monday over the 'Horsemeat Scandal'  that is spreading across Europe.

Stephane Le Foll, the French agriculture minister, said the results of an investigation by the country’s anti-fraud agency into the origins of the horsemeat, disguised as beef and sold in frozen food in a number of countries, would be released on Wednesday Feb 13,2013

The Romanian horsemeat used in French-supplied frozen “beef” products “appeared to be a case of fraud”, France’s consumer affairs minister has said, as the horsemeat scandal that erupted in Britain reverberated across the continent.

On Sunday Feb 10,2013, Benoît Hamon, France’s consumer affairs minister, said the Romanian horsemeat used in French-supplied frozen “beef” products “appeared to be a case of fraud”. At the very least, he said, imported meat had been relabelled without proper controls.