'The Great Shame about This Incident, Is That It Could Undermine Consumer Confidence in the Entire Food Chain, When the Truth Is That in the UK, We Have One of the Most Tightly-Regulated Food Industries in the World.' SALLY WILLIAMS AND DARREN DEVINE Newsdesk@walesonline.Co.UK WORRIED CONSUMERS 'SHOULD BUY FROM A LOCAL BUTCHER'

Byline: SALLY WILLIAMS AND DARREN DEVINE

A FOOD company at the centre of a scandal over horse meat in beef burgers has vowed to adopt strict DNA testing of its products to prevent a repeat.

The ABP Food Group, one of Europe's biggest suppliers and processors, is being investigated by health and agriculture authorities in the UK and Ireland over the controversy. Two of its subsidiaries, Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton in Yorkshire, supplied beef burgers with traces of equine DNA to supermarkets, including one product classed as 29% horse.

An ABP spokesman said. "It is vital that the integrity of the supply chain is assured and we are committed to restoring consumer confidence." A third company, Liffey Meats, based in Co Cavan, Ireland, was also found to be supplying products to supermarkets with traces of horse DNA. Suppliers in the Netherlands and Spain have been identified as the possible sources for incorrectly labelled ingredients. The scandal was uncovered through DNA testing of samples by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The results, verified in laboratories in Germany, showed low levels of horse in beef products sold in Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and Dunnes Stores in Ireland.

But in one sample from the Tesco Everyday Value range the burgers were almost one third horse meat (29%) compared to beef content.

The retailers …

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Publication information: Article title: 'The Great Shame about This Incident, Is That It Could Undermine Consumer Confidence in the Entire Food Chain, When the Truth Is That in the UK, We Have One of the Most Tightly-Regulated Food Industries in the World.' SALLY WILLIAMS AND DARREN DEVINE Newsdesk@walesonline.Co.UK WORRIED CONSUMERS 'SHOULD BUY FROM A LOCAL BUTCHER'. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales). Publication date: January 17, 2013. Page number: 6. © 2009 MGN Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2013 Gale Group.

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