We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
FINDUS FROZEN BEEF lasagne products found to contain up to 100 per cent horse meat in the UK were also on sale in Ireland, it was confirmed today.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said that it has been in contact with Findus since last night to establish which retailers had been supplied this product.
The authority said that Tesco withdrew this product from Irish shelves on Wednesday of this week, but did not notify the FSAI of this.
Withdrawn
The FSAI is contacting the retail trade today to ensure this product is withdrawn from sale. It is advising Irish consumers to check if they have purchased this product and if they have, not to eat it, but to return it to the point of purchase.
The beef lasagne product has been withdrawn in the UK by Findus following the discovery of the presence of horse meat. This came after the supplier, a French-based company Comigel, raised concerns about the type of meat used in the product.
According to Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive of the FSAI, it is unknown at this point in time if these products pose a food safety risk. Tests have not been undertaken in the UK to establish if the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone is present in the frozen lasagnes.
Animals which have been treated with that drug are forbidden from entering the human food chain.
Prof Reilly said:
It is our understanding that Findus is testing the products for the presence of phenylbutazone. Phenylbutazone is a commonly used medicine in horses and horses treated with it are not allowed to enter the food chain. Our advice to consumers at this point, is not to consume this product, but to dispose of it or return it to their retailer.
The FSAI said that “full compliance with food law is required across the entire supply chain at all times and that food business operators must remain vigilant in ensuring the authenticity of ingredients used”.
Consumers who have queries regarding the affected product can contact the FSAI advice line on 1890 336677, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The moral of all this is stick to the local butcher instead of all that frozen well horse…
When’s your Frankie Dettori day?
Customer Warning:
Mass produced beef burgers may contain traces of beef!
Customer Notice:
Local butcher produced beef burgers, contains 100% Bord Bia Certified Irish beef!
The choice is yours.
The neck on findus
They’ve a neck on them like a jockeys boll*x!
Maybe at long last consumers will start to ask questions about how Tesco can be so much ‘cheaper’ without compromising ‘quality’
There is only a fixed quantity of ‘value’ available, so something has to give.
Shop Irish…..
“Shop Irish”
Are you suggesting that we shop in Dunnes Stores? The Ryanair of retail has not said a word about how it is dealing with tainted burgers etc.; the foreign owned chains have given us some information but Dunnes are silent. Personally, I would not anything – food or otherwise – from them.
isn’t it Irish people selling the horse meat to Tesco??
EXACTLY…. Everyone of these chains are making themselves out to be the “victim” of the controversy when in fact they are the reason for it!
I think there taking us for a ride
Hi Tom at least I know why my husband turned into a right old nag after eating findus lasagne. Some times he even had the run and gallops and I thought it was stress!!!!!!
hope no-one gets the trots
Great caption on photo: findus food in freezer
what ya want a picture of a horse being squashed into a machine and coming out the other side conveyed into a box and put into a freezer all nice and ready for you to buy and eat.
well do ya PUNK .
Yes please
Ha ha!
Getting to the point where you have to decide weather to fry, roast, grill anything with beef in it or back it at 4/1 at Kempton at 4:30 :-)
odds are certainly going to shorten on “Beef or Salmon” ;)
That’s deadly
One question, well two actually?
The report says “The authority said that Tesco withdrew this product from Irish shelves on Wednesday of this week, but did not notify the FSAI of this”.
Were Tesco required to notify the FSAI when they remove a food product owing to “safety concerns”?
If not why not?
Complete lack of respect for the authorities in this country shown by Tesco – not too surprised about that. The FSAI has opened a Pandoras box with the non routine testing of DNA in meat products – I’d say a large number of the retailers across Europe are cursing them. “Value” ranges will come under far more scrutiny now. As a result of this scandal & aside from the fraudulent use of horse/pig meat, people may finally take far more notice of the ingredient labels – all processed meat products have to declare meat content by weight or percentage and where meat by-products are used eg collagen, fat that has to be declared also.
I’d say a large number of European retailers are cursing Irish suppliers! Do you really trust an Irish manufacturer to declare EXACTLY what is in their product?
Beef or salmon lasagne. Boom boom.
Hopefully that was you exploding.
Don’t know how people but that processed crap too begin with….home made all the way..most off the time it’s works out cheaper ..people need too wise up and get back the way cooking was meant too be done ..fresh
Your right went you start cocking your own you will wonder how ever eat the sh1t in the first place it takes about 45 minutes to cock a home mead even
45 mins to cock good man lol
fresh meat from your local butcher..do you know what’s in it?
The most practical way to deal with this is to start calling them horse burgers, or lasagne. Problem solved. You could then put on the packaging 100% Irish horse meat. …. Donkey next, 100% Irish ass meat !!!
Poor Garfield, no more lasagna for him :)
Phenylbutazon (bute) is used to treat lameness and muscle pain in race horses, it was originally permitted for training not in racing, but it’s use became so widespread they gave up the ban (in the US race horses must have low levels of it, I don’t think there’s a limit in the UK and Ireland).
The presence of Bute in “Beef” means race horses are being slaughtered just after races or while in training, it was a useful animal until e.g. it broke a leg or came last. Then within 2 or 3 days of its last dose of Bute, the horse is slaughtered and ends up in a beef burger (any later, Bute would have been excreted).
There’s allot of money in horse racing, and where there’s money there’s corruption, thus an ability to organise, implement and profit from a scheme whereby useless old race horses are rapidly slaughtered passed off as beef in a few days.
“Association of phenylbutazone usage with horses bought for slaughter: a public health risk.”
Alot of horsing around lately.
The finest “italian stallion lasagne” from findus!! Now we know what happened to shergar.
DNA has had some really bad press lately. I hope a ‘RNA scandal’ comes along and takes the spotlight off it.
If I ever own a horse I’m going to call it Beef Lasagne
Where do the get all the horses? Like are we talking thousands and thousands of horses slaughtered and mixed in with the beef or whats the deal?
Pizzas are staging a comeback!
Pepperponi toppings? I think not….
Not thumbs down but Hands Down
Findus can trot on if they think I’d eat there food
Hoof hearted
Oil beef hooked
Nothing is wrong with the product…. As long as it is labeled. I personally wouldn’t knowingly enjoy horse meat… I also don’t enjoy duck, goose, eel, chicken dark meat, black pudding, white pudding, chitterlings, trotters, tripe, coddle, pig ears, Indian curry, calf heart, cow brains, beef tongue, boiled chicken, over cooked vegtables, holiday fruit cake, jello, aspic, okra, green fried tomatoes, soy milk, tofu, Tayto Crisps, processed corn beef, spam, oysters and escargot.
But then again… I will try anything… As long as it’s labeled.
Childhood memories of Findus Crispy Pancakes ruined!!
strange everyone keeps mentioning horse meat when horse meat is actually more expensive than beef. equine dna is what is mentioned which leads me to think donkey!!!!
Just wondering what people thought happened to dead animals. There are countries where horse is viewed as meat which I have been told is slightly sweeter and tougher than beef. 1000′s of horses were killed after the First World War and many ended up in the food chain. Personally I try and shop locally in the smaller shops to avoid the chain shops where their main interest is the bottom line at any price.
A little horsemeat will do no harm. People should just get over this hurdle!
It’s not the horse meat I find disturbing, it’s the fact we don’t know where these horses came from, they’re not bord bia traceable. What antibiotics have they been given or what diseases might they have had.
The laughing horse beef lasagne.
Thanks for the tip.
Where can I find some?
tesco
A jasus, I’ve had loads of them. Tasted fantastic or maybe the horse drugs in it tasted fantastic, either way, wonder if tesco will sell them to me on the cheap.. Yum
This is just the tip of the iceburg. Wait till the whistle blowing starts.
So whats goin on down at birds eye.
Neil Young will be solo in the RDS the way things are going.
I think you’ll findus getting a bit out of hand
The biggest load of pony I have ever read!
Perhaps Find us should rebrand themselves as Pegasus!
I meant Findus – feckin auto incorrect!
Between using cheaper meats+ smaller packaging and so forth is being used to mislead inflation.
We found you
have your say