Tescos horse meat

That's Man Utd isn't it? 

Maybe prawns in the posh boxes,but for us its a meal and 2 pints in the Weatherspoons  near Putney bridge.

Mista H

That's the spirit. Blame us East Europeans.............

That's the spirit. Blame us East Europeans.............

Not blaming anyone WW,  just reporting wot is in the news & TV reports. 

The 3 burger production units involved source their meat - as in real meat off cuts - from Poland.

However its now being reported as horse & pig DNA found in bulking filler protein from either Holland or Spain.  But its early days yet so it could all change again

- I am waiting to hear that eating burgers give you Mad Horse Disease  

BTW,  I have ancestors from east Europe so I am a little sensitive to blaming "us" east Europeans

Respect, Mike. Unfortunately there are many (clearly not including yourself ) that tend to judge Poland as some poor third world country near Siberia, having the classic stereo-type mentality of 'isn't that where Polar Bears roam the streets ?'

As a Tyke who has lived in Poland the last 20 years, this sort of thing 'rubs me up', as I'm sure it does you.

No probs WW

I used to work a lot around Poland, Ukraine & Baltic's starting way back in the pre-EU days up to 2009.  I loved it & have friends who still keep in touch even since I retired. - but the influence of the big bear in those days was everywhere & "making some business" was a way of life.

Poland has changed like nowhere else I have seen in Europe. Most of my time was around Warsaw were my distributor had his HQ & Gdansk for the marine work.  I made visits to customers & distributor workshops all over the country but that gave little time to look around with enough time to smell the roses.

My last trip before I retired was spring 2009 & I took time out for 5 days to tour around & visit tghe tourist places & were that small part of my family were from & also where most ended their days – an emotional time.

I understand very much, Mike. Some of my wife's close family were lost to the Bolsheviks and at Katin. But, enough of the sad past. Let both of our families enjoy the beauties of Poland in the future (as you know, it is incredibly beautiful) - you know, Poland is SOOO ripe for tourist expansion, we just need the investment. If only i had a few bob to spare .

https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/1566878604888323

Poland is going rapidly again towards greatness.

And as for it being a place to visit, just get invited there by Polish friends. It is something more special than words can express.

ATB from George

You can get kangaroo in Belgium, and they think nothing of ordering it for a banquet, as if everybody eats kangaroo given the opportunity.    

It was an uptick from some of the weird meats in China, but it was shocking to see it in Belgium, land of Michelin stars.  

Are you guys eating kangaroo, too?  We don't see it around here, or horse either.  

I can get "roo"  - plus crocodile, various "venison" animals from Africa, including zebra (horse/ass) & a list of other overseas meats.  I buy Kudo biltong whenever I pass one shop

It all depends on supply & season,  but all within 10/20 miles of where I live from more than one outlet including restaurants.

Ostrich & a few other non-European animals are farmed in the area as well,  I guess the South American lama types are for wool, but they are from the camel family & camel meat is standard fare in mideast.

Yumm, yumm

"

DEFECT SOURCE:  Mold - pre and/or post harvest mold infection. Insect fragments - pre and/or post harvest and/or processing insect infestation. Rodent hair - pre and/or post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta 
SIGNIFICANCE:  Aesthetic, Potential health hazard - mold may contain mycotoxin producing fungi "

DEFECT SOURCE:  Insects - preharvest and/or post harvest insect infestation, Excreta - post harvest and/or processing animal contamination
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic

There's a little crap in everything - it gets a bit rich when the crap is 'alf a pony.

I'd stop buying that French crap if I were you...

What was the reference Adam and from where were the samples tested? The mould count seems unusually high. With any milled natural product you will always have contaminants like that. I make sure I always buy good quality products that are likely to have less contamination than some of the crap you see being sold loose in some markets. You'd probably have the same results with British flour. It's a fact of life.

I'm not squeamish about the things I eat. Try anything twice is my motto.

Bon Appetit

Steve

P.S. Derry, the paprika is from Spain and the fennel seeds were harvested from my own garden. So, no French 'crap' here.

http://www.fda.gov/food/guidan...tation/ucm056174.htm

Hi Adam,

The paper is flawed as it doesn't identify from which source the foodstuffs were obtained. That's not saying the contaminants aren't present in most products, it's unavoidable in the manufacturing process. Just think how many insects are eaten in a fresh salad. More protein is what I say.

Steve

A very good website set up by  our MPs for members of the public to use re eating food out is

www.food.gov.uk    On this site you can checkout the food inspectors ratings 1-5 for places in your town.

We went out for a curry last week at a local Indian,didnt think the food was to bad. When we got home checked out its rating on the above website,it only only got a 1 out of 5 rating by food inspectors......wont be going back.

Mista H

Breaking news this morning has thrown more fuel on the fire ......

- It started with horse in burgers

- Last week we learned about pig meat in Halal products supplied to the UK prison food service

- Then one of the UK’s biggest & best wholesale food suppliers who also supplies many of the countries hotels & restaurant announced they were the unwitting supplier & have cancelled their contract with the meat plant(s) involved.

This morning we learn of 2 new reports of burgers containing “very high levels” (75% & >80%) of horse meat has been found in found in 2 separate plants in NI & Rep Ireland.

This new report has also raised another concern about the integrity of the food supply chain and its ability to meet the specifications laid down by the retail buyers which have packaging labelled British (or Irish) meat:  the investigations have found the offending meat & "bulk" protein has (so far) come from Holland & Poland.

So it looks like Findus are taking te flak away fm the previous players of last week.

Findus UK has recalled its beef lasagne. 

Findus France said it too had recalled lasagne and two other products.

Findus UK & France supplier Comigel,  a frozen foods producer in France, told a newspaper it had bought the meat from another French company & they were supplied from a Romanian abattoir.

The French Consumer Affairs Minister has said a Luxembourg factory had been supplied by another French firm which had bought the meat frozen from a Cypriot trader, who in turn sub-contracted the order to a Dutch trader who bought the meat from a Romanian abattoir.

So as I said before (based on my insider rumours)  it was an east European scam,  seems the meat industry rumours might have some substance & maybe have something else to tell.

The fallout from is the lost contracts with supermarkets will cost peoples jobs. Silvercrest in Co Monaghan has lost contracts with Tesco, Aldi and Co-Op supermarkets, how long can they keep the jobs open??    I just hope they hang on and/or UK & Irish governments intervene & ensure jobs are held in place until this mess is resolved – and assuming the food processors are proven not guilty - the contracts re-established.  

I had a piece of horse for lunch on Wednesday. It was delicious.

This sounds like good news.

There's been a lot of scaremongering concerning the presence of Bute in the horsemeat. The BBC had a woman on stating "My husband works in an abattoir, and he said the horsemeat is contaminated with Bute"

I suspect the use of Bute is a lot lower in Rumania than England, France or Holland.

I would say in Romania that is true fatcat,  but I've seen more live horse transport around Europe than folks in these parts would like to hear about;  might be interesting to find out where the horses were born & raised.  

Beef (for e.g.) is strictly regulated & heritage - parents locations & age - are strictly controlled & recorded.  I wonder ( I doubt it ) the same applies to horse or goat etc.       

Forget foreign horses in burgers,  the Brits are at it as well  ..........

A slaughterhouse in Yorkshire & meat processor in Wales have been raided by the FSA & police.

FSA suspended operations at both, quarantined all the meat on the premises & have taken away paperwork, including customer lists.

The Yorkshire plant is thought to have supplied horse to the Welsh plant which were allegedly sold on as beef for kebabs and burgers.

Meanwhile, Waitrose withdrew its Essential British Frozen Beef Meatballs after pork was detected.  

What odds on goat in Shepherd's Pie sometime soon.

Or maybe Shep Pie

Or a Shepherd?

There's an interesting article here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scie...environment-21430329

Disinewed meat (DSM) was introduced in the the UK in the 1990s as a replacement for mechanically recovered meat (MRM). Sometimes called "pink slime", MRM was formed by removing residual meat from animal bones using high pressure water.

But in April last year, the European Commission told the FSA that it no longer regarded DSM as a form of meat and it would have to reclassify it as MRM, which meant it could no longer be used in low-cost meat items.

What a mess. Whatever rules are made, companies will always find cheaper ways of producing "meat", and I use the term loosely. Something that hasn't been discussed is the condition of the horses slaughtered for meat. While cattle, pigs and sheep are bred for food production, the animals will be slaughtered at their prime in order to get the best market price. Horses however will be bred as pets or working horses and will only be sent for slaughter when they are at the end of their useful life, ie old, unfit and/or diseased. So in theory, horsemeat may not pose a health risk but this is dependent on the quality of the carcasses.

I'm reminded of a joke on "Have I Got News For You" at the time of the BSE crisis. Except it wasn't a joke.

Q. Why did they feed sheep brains to cattle ?

A. Because fish became to expensive.

It takes buying a Hot Dog into another thought process

And I wonder how the good folks of Hamburg are feeling right now