By Laura Moulden
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued further guidance on the contamination of beef products with horsemeat.
According to the body, the significant amount of tainted meat points to either “gross negligence” or deliberate action and it revealed the police are already involved in the investigation.
In a statement, the body responded to worries over the safety of frozen meat products in the UK.
“There is no reason to suspect that there’s any health issue with frozen food in general, and we wouldn’t advise people to stop eating it,” it said.
The FSA went on to reveal that cases of meat contamination in beef products from Tesco and Findus were linked to suppliers in Ireland and France and are collaborating with the authorities in these countries to get to the bottom of the issue.
Findus’ frozen lasagne and Tesco’s beef burgers – which were both found to have been contaminated with horsemeat – have been withdrawn from sale and the FSA advised consumers with these products to return them as a precaution.
The ongoing scandal over contaminated beef has uncovered a range of discrepancies in UK food retailers, including Asda, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland.
Last month, Tesco dropped its supplier Silvercrest Foods, claiming the company had breached its trust. The retailer went on to announce that stringent checks would be put in place to prevent the occurrence of such incidents in the future.
