Horse Meat found in Tesco Beefburgers

[dylans]

Not Findus, at least I doubt. 100% horse in Lasagne. Not sure people will trust them in the future.

There is an article in the Guardian here talking about the business concerns of Findus and saying that they are already struggling financially and were planning on taking the whole company up market. Now that strategy is ruined. This could bring the company down

The company, which was bought by the private equity firm Lion Capital for £1.1bn in 2008, also owns the Young's Seafood brand. It has been struggling financially after it was loaded with huge debts, and was forced into a major restructuring last year, including a £220m cash injection.

A source familiar with Findus's operations said there has been "huge pressure" to lower the company's costs as it struggles to take its products upmarket.

"Until they could introduce new products for which consumers are willing to pay more - by taking frozen food upmarket - the only option they had was to reduce the cost line," the source said, adding that a series of executive changes meant the entire group was short of media expertise, leaving it exposed to the latest damaging revelations.

"No one in the company is responsible for communications as a full-time job. It is simply part of the marketing function, so the company is not set up to manage a crisis."
The same source said the scandal would deal a further blow to the group's efforts to make frozen food more upmarket.
"The last thing Findus and the frozen food industry needs is a reputational scandal … They wanted to introduce new brands, new products and take the whole category upmarket … The bet by Lion Capital was that instead of being 2 for £1 in Iceland, they could sell products for £3.50 in Waitrose. This scandal is a horrible setback for the company and a food category that is very unloved."

The best thing that can happen from Findus' point of view is if something else turns up with one or more of their competitors and this thing becomes a wider scandal. Otherwise they are going to feel the wrath of customers for the whole scandal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/...candal-findus-reputation?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

 

[DexterTCN]

food standards agency 'abolished' 2010, horses in our food 2012?

 

[dylans]

It (Findus) had begun withdrawing its products from shops across the UK on Monday after an alert from its supplier, French manufacturer Comigel, that there "might be an issue with labelling". Damage-limitation PR experts Burson Marsteller, hired by Findus, offered the dubious reassurance that its product was only 15% "beef" anyway

.http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/08/horsemeat-scandal-more-to-come

 

[redsquirrel]

That, again, isn't a problem that's intrinsic to industrial farming, it's just the way it's done ATM.

And what about the huge ecological damage?

I think you're being dangerously naive about industrial farming, it has caused serious health, ecological and social problems both in the UK and worldwide.

 

[Frances Lengel]

And what about the huge ecological damage?

I think you're being dangerously naive about industrial farming, it has caused serious health, ecological and social problems both in the UK and worldwide.

I don't think I'm being naive - An industrial population needs feeding - It's going to be industrial scran. Damage is going to be done, but this is a road we have chosen (by we I don't mean you or I individually, that should go without saying but...), the only thing AFAIC is to minimise the damage.

 

[goldenecitrone]

I was in a tesco express this evening and there was a poster promising to introduce DNA testing of all meats.

They should have a little stall, next to the cheese tasting, for the burger testing. They could give out prizes for whoever finds traces of cow in their products.

 

[Kaka Tim]

If they are about to start DNA testing all meat products as a result of this, I strongly suspect that a whole range of products at the economy end of the market are going to found to be full of shite.
I hope Greggs steakbakes are safe!

 

[existentialist]

No it isn't. Kits like this are only £200 or so. That's for testing 100 products. Even cheaper to make your own kits if you're doing it large scale and long term

Well, that's cheaper than I'd heard, but I imagine that in an industry where it's OK to use ground up horses to shave a few pence off the cost of the product, even that's going to be unwelcome!

 

[ymu]

They don't need to (and in most cases cannot) test every individual product and we wouldn't be trusting industry to do it anyway. There are various quality assurance schemes which are voluntary or compulsory and it is the industry which pays the costs of being certified. They don't get a choice if these conditions are imposed. All they can do is lobby until the regulations are relaxed and then another scandal happens and the cycle continues.

Having said that, quality assurance schemes have been privatised (the old British Safety Institute of kitemark fame is now a private company competing with other private companies for quality assurance certification). This is a terrible way to do it and quite possibly one of the causal factors here.

 

[ymu]

On causal factors, I'd say most of the blame lies with the supermarkets and the intolerable pressure they put on their suppliers.

For Findus specifically, it seems to be the private equity buy out in 2008 (which occurred when they were already struggling, as is usually the case with private equity buy-outs). They did the usual thing of loading the company with debt to pay themselves enormous dividends and fees, sacking non-essential staff (like those responsible for traceability and quality standards), and then leaving the company to sink or swim and the creditors to pick up the bill if it fails.

 

[DexterTCN]

Horses for courses.

Anyone said that yet?

 

[ymu]

There's a thread search facility. Check for yourself ya lazy cunt.

 

[Gromit]

Who here has played the "have you ever eaten...?" game.

Y'know where you all examine how adventurous you are with food.

Have you ever eaten:
Rabbit
Duck
Shark
Squid
Horse

Before we get to:
Dog
Rat
Snake
Insects
Etc.

I now find it amusing that the number of people who have to answer to Horse 'um yes probably' has risen dramatically.
I'd already had horse steak in France so I wasn't affected.

 

[dylans]

I have a feeling that this may be just the start of the crisis. The Independent is now reporting that meat products have contained horse for at least 6 months and horse meat may have even got into school and hospital meals. Aldi now confirm that their own brand lasagne and spaghetti also contains 100% horse.

All they need to do now is find some banned drugs in the food and this will get really serious.

Supermarkets alerted to the contamination earlier this week were told “that the raw materials delivered since 1 August 2012, are likely to non-conform... ” As the crisis spread, Aldi admitted that its frozen own-brand lasagnes and spaghetti bolognese – also containing meat from Comigel – contained up to 100 per cent horse DNA.

Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, said it was still awaiting test results on its own-brand spaghetti bolognese. The disclosures suggest that many tens of thousands of British people have been unwittingly eating horse meat. Public health scientists fear that the covertly added meat may have traces of the banned veterinary drug “bute”, which is harmful to humans in large amounts.

The FSA had “ordered food businesses” to test processed beef products and was trying to find out if schools and hospitals had received adulterated meat.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...als-horse-in-beef-for-six-months-8486602.html

 

[spring-peeper]

Who here has played the "have you ever eaten...?" game.

Y'know where you all examine how adventurous you are with food.

Have you ever eaten:
Rabbit
Duck
Shark
Squid
Horse

Before we get to:
Dog
Rat
Snake
Insects
Etc.

I now find it amusing that the number of people who have to answer to Horse 'um yes probably' has risen dramatically.
I'd already had horse steak in France so I wasn't affected.

Duck is the only thing on the list I've tried.

 

[Pingu]

on the plus side if this has been going on for ages the risks of people contracting CJD have just dropped significantly

 

[ymu]

Duck and squid don't belong on that list at all. Not at all unusual, stocked in every medium-sized supermarket and regulars on pub menus let alone restaurant menus. Usually called calamari (breaded squid rings) in pubs.

I've eaten shark, caught in my presence minutes before it was cooked.

 

[Drei]

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 they posed no health risk.

It may not pose health risks but it does go against the human rights freedom of choice, choosing what to eat and all that...

 

[bi0boy]

What they mean by "poses no health risk" is "poses no health risk in so far as we are aware, given that we don't even know what this horse meat concoction consists of or where it came from".

 

[Drei]

What i do not understand, is why buy burgers in the first place? Maybe they were of the sort that one could not make at home... like adding a little extra spice or even horsemeat!!! because homemade burgers are not only cheaper to make but incredibly easy...

 

[Drei]

What they mean by "poses no health risk" is "poses no health risk in so far as we are aware, given that we don't even know what this horse meat concoction consists of or where it came from".

agree with that

 

[Gromit]

Duck and squid don't belong on that list at all. Not at all unusual, stocked in every medium-sized supermarket and regulars on pub menus let alone restaurant menus. Usually called calamari (breaded squid rings) in pubs.

I've eaten shark, caught in my presence minutes before it was cooked.

To you. To some duck is far from it. They are cute duckies wuckies and although they eat chicken wont eat duck.
As for squid you eat them slimy tentacled things from the sea Ewwww! Etc.

Beef, pork, chicken and lamb are considered the main meats and anything else out of the every day ordinary. To the British at least. Even turkey is as every day as chicken etc.

 

[Favelado]

Calamari just means squid. Nowt to do with bread or rings. My other posts will be better than this.

 

[Fuchs66]

Who here has played the "have you ever eaten...?" game.

Y'know where you all examine how adventurous you are with food.

Have you ever eaten:
Rabbit
Duck
Shark
Squid
Horse

Before we get to:
Dog
Rat
Snake
Insects
Etc.

The only ones I've not knowingly tried are rat and dog, not that I wouldn't I just haven't had the chance.

 

[bi0boy]

Waitrose have microwavable rabbit ready meals now.

 

[frogwoman]

Has anyone here ever eaten a cat?

 

[Callum91]

What i do not understand, is why buy burgers in the first place? Maybe they were of the sort that one could not make at home... like adding a little extra spice or even horsemeat!!! because homemade burgers are not only cheaper to make but incredibly easy...

Because everyone has the time to be making burgers, don't they?

 

[Drei]

Because everyone has the time to be making burgers, don't they?

there's always time to make burgers... sunday roasts are still made at home and they take a lot longer to cook...

 

[teqniq]

Has anyone here ever eaten a cat?

Yes, but I'm alright Meeeow!

*gets coat*

 

[8ball]

Because everyone has the time to be making burgers, don't they?

I guess that's the thing - making burgers wouldn't be that much of a bind, but burgers are the type of thing bought by people with either very little money or extremely little time. You could get rid of burgers but another kind of mucky processed food would take up the slack.