Irish meat firm QK Meats, a supplier to Birds Eye, was first alerted to the presence of horsemeat in beef shipped from Poland in June 2012 after its own tests came back positive for horse DNA.
In a report published by Ireland’s Agriculture Department, it emerged QK imported beef from 19 different Polish suppliers. As early as last year, the company carried out DNA tests on 15 consignments of beef from nine Polish suppliers. Seven of these tests came back positive for horse DNA.
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QK emphasised it contacted the Polish suppliers to arrange for the contaminated consignments to be returned. The group added none of the meat that tested positive for horse DNA entered the food chain. However, last week the firm was identified as the meat supplier for Birds Eye lasagne and spaghetti products that tested positive for horse DNA.
The company continued to source meat from Poland, even after it was alerted to the contamination issue, the report stressed.
Releasing the report, Irish Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney was critical of the food industry’s handling of the horsemeat scandal.
“Consumer confidence and trust is the most vital component of our policy relating to the broad food industry. Without consumer confidence and trust there is no future for any of the participants in the food supply chain whether they are retailers, processors, traders or primary producers. There is a clear onus on all the participants to ensure that safe and quality food products are placed on the market,” he insisted.
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By GlobalDataHe argued QK’s decision to “knowingly withholding information” about “problems in the supply chain” was “totally unacceptable”.
QK was unavailable for comment at time of press.
To access the full report, click here.
