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CONSUMERS ARE BUYING fewer frozen burgers after the horse meat scandal, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said.
The FSAI has published research into the impact of the horse meat contamination issue on Irish consumer confidence and trust in the food they purchase. It is six months since it emerged that some Irish beef products contained horse DNA, which led on to a Europe-wide investigation into the issue.
It said that the issue has resulted in a marked increase in awareness around food safety, with 50 per cent of respondents saying they are now more conscious about food safety issues in general.
Plus, people are spending more time reading labels when buying food.
Purchasing habits
The survey also shows that over half (51 per cent) of people who purchased frozen burgers in the past are now buying less of these products. However, 48 per cent of people buy the same amount.
Virtually all adults in the country (98 per cent) said they were aware of the horse meat issue, with almost three quarters (72 per cent) said they have confidence in Irish food safety controls and regulations. Just 13 per cent were not confident.
In addition, 45 per cent of consumers said they now spend more time reading labels on food products.
When it comes to ingredients, over half (53 per cent) said they are now more conscious of the ingredients that go into manufactured food products, while 56 per cent said they are more conscious about the country of origin of food.
Of the people who bought processed foods containing meat in the past, 42 per cent say they now buy less of these products. However, 56 per cent continue to buy the same amount.
When it comes to fresh burgers, the situation was slightly different – 69 per cent said they buy the same amount as before, while 16 per cent buy less, and 15 per cent buy more.
Concern
Almost two out of every five people who consume meat said they were concerned as the issue unfolded, while 61 per cent were unconcerned.
The people who said they were concerned gave these reasons:
Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI said that the horse meat scandal “has changed the way people in Ireland view the foods they purchase and consume”.
When buying processed foods, people are not in a position to identify what raw materials are used and, therefore, they rely on labelling as their only source of information. They are in effect putting their trust in the hands of manufacturers and retailers who have a legal obligation to ensure that all ingredients in their products are correctly labelled.
He added that a “key lesson” for food businesses is that they must have robust supplier controls in place at all times to ensure that they know who is supplying them and that all products and ingredients are authentic.
Purchasing raw materials on face value is a high risk strategy for food processors. Progress has already been made with enhanced controls and sophisticated tools such as DNA testing now being a part of the food safety armoury. Given the added controls now in place, I believe that the eventual outcome of this food fraud scandal will be a positive one for consumers.
The FSAI will continue its routine monitoring and surveillance programmes on foods on the Irish market to ensure that they are complying with the requirements of food law and that they are safe to eat.
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They just don’t taste the same since they took the horse out.
People buying *fewer* frozen burgers is surely an unexpected benefit of this debacle? Just hope they’re buying something fresher and healthier instead!
We’ve always made our own hamburger patties. Even growing up in my Mothers home, she made and still does make everything from scratch, even her pizza bases and pasta..
Last night I mad hamburgers for the family.. So quick and easy and tastes even better as you make it the way you like it. :)
The best burgers are homemade no question about it …think I know what I’m cooking tonight now
How anyone can eat that frozen sh1t is beyond me. Saying they are affordable is just a lazy excuse
Fact. Even you use the cheap 20% fat mince in your homemade burgers, you still end up with a healthier and more traceable burger than anything processed or off the shelf!!
Why people eat processed food in the first place is beyond me
It’s not good for ya folks
I used to use weetabix instead of breadcrumbs for the binder. Fantastic texture to the beef patty.
And do you have your own farm and cows? As otherwise you can’t tell what meat you’re using / what was animal fed etc.? That’s about your burgers from “scratch” I’m afraid.
Quick, cheap, usually decent tasting…?
I still buy them. Even if there was horse meat in them sure a but of horse isn’t gonna kill ya.
I still buy em. That’s *neigh* true! I’ll get my coat…
Blessing in disguise, the controversy increased peoples awareness of what was going into their bodies. The people of this country are better off if they take matters into their own hands and prepared food with the raw materials themselves. Overall their is a shocking lack of knowledge of even how the most simple of meals are made.
Hence part of the reason 100 job loses in Tipperary announced….
I gets my burgers from the local horse ranch..giddy up.
Why would anybody but that frozen meat patty crap, when you can crack an egg into a bit of fresh mince and make ur own burgers in minutes 100 times nicer than that frozen plastic muck!
Horse meat is fine, Iv had it, but I was told what I was about to order! Sure thirty odd years ago a chipper in D12 area (now long gone) used to sell batter burgers made of dog food and was caught. People used to love them….specially after a feed of pints!
will the river of mince ever end?
Never have eaten frozen burgers,will only eat fresh if the origin is known,if not, i just wont eat,and that goes for most meats.
well certainly not my flat mate, they’d eat shite and well turns out they do look the worse for wear.
I always make my own. Any processed meat that comes out of a box cant be good.
What a shame. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It leads to the most stupid and damaging overreactions.
The most silly example of this was the Capuchin shelter in Dublin throwing out all of their burgers (many of which would have been kindly donated by members of the public, and gratefully eaten by visitors to the shelter) which they could have given to the needy and which would have done those who ate them not a fraction of harm at all.
Also, how many jobs will be lost in Irish meat factories because of the largely uninformed (a little knowledge being a dangerous thing), negative overreaction of Irish consumers?
That one in the photo needs to go in the freezer pronto before it thaws.
No regulation was to be expected.
Banana republic.
Sure the simple reason why people by less frozen burgers is the fact that most chains don’t carry them no more or in very limited quantities. Great research that is!
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