FOOD FRAUD IN BRITISH PRODUCTS

Is horsemeat in pies as well? Fears budget pasties and ready meals have been contaminated too.

The problem of horsemeat contamination may have spread from beef burgers to budget pies, pasties and ready meals.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is under pressure to begin testing a much wider range of beef products following revelations that contamination goes far wider than originally believed.

It emerged over the weekend that pies and pasties supplied to UK prisons as halal beef actually contained pork, which is contrary to Muslim religious laws.

If pork is appearing in certified halal pies, MPs are concerned that horse and other species have also been used in many more budget beef products.

The manufacturer of the pies, distributed by wholesaler 3663, was named yesterday as McColgan Quality Foods Ltd, which is based in Northern Ireland.

Food manufacturers and supermarkets have been called to emergency talks with the FSA today to understand the extent of the food fraud

The FSA has been put in charge of handling Britain’s investigation into the contamination of beef products with horsemeat and pork.

However, critics have serious doubts about the organisation’s handling of the crisis amid concerns it is too close to the food industry.

In one glaring omission, FSA chiefs have failed to test the products that have been removed from sale by the likes of Burger King, Waitrose, Asda, the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and others.

It is only testing products that went into production after the contamination emerged two weeks ago, which is after any suspect ingredients had been taken out.

The FSA said the decision to limit testing was made on the basis that the presence of other types of meat is not a food safety issue

However, this approach means the watchdog is failing in its duty to enforce labelling laws, which state that it is a criminal offence to mislead the public by describing a product as beef when it also contains horse or pork.

The FSA’s handling of the scandal was been surrounded by secrecy, which included refusing to identify the firm responsible for the tainted halal pies.

Subsequently, the food wholesale company, 3663, which distributed the pies to some prisons, named the manufacturer as McColgan Quality Foods. It said the products have been withdrawn.

McColgan said it viewed the contamination with ‘deep regret’ and insisted that pork is not included in the recipes of any of its halal products.

Barry Gardiner MP, a member of the Commons food and farming select committee, which oversees the FSA, said widespread testing of pies, pasties and other beef products is needed urgently.

‘How are we to know whether or not there is horsemeat in pies and other products unless there is some testing?’ he said

The FSA must be much more proactive in this area. We are in a recession and it is precisely the time that people do take these sorts of short cuts.’

Mr Gardiner said the limited testing ordered by the FSA so far, which has left out the products removed from sale, was ‘perverse’.

He said: ‘If they have taken a clear decision that products are being taken off sale by the supplier and therefore we are not going to test them, that would be absolutely wrong.’

Erik(correct) Millstone, Professor of Science Policy at the University of Sussex, said the government and the FSA have been involved in buck-passing over responsibility for dealing with the scandal.

He said the FSA’s narrow testing means it may have missed the chance to identify the true scale of the problem.

The FSA described the presence of pork in halal pies as ‘unacceptable’. However, it said no decision has been made to extend testing beyond burgers and other products containing raw mince beef.

‘We have called an urgent meeting of major retailers and suppliers on Monday to ensure that everyone is fully aware of their responsibilities,’ it said.

By Sean Poulter in "Daily Mail", London, February, 4, 2013. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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