Birds Eye unveils its horsemeat investigation
Birds Eye unveils its horsemeat investigation
Following the withdrawal of a small number of Birds Eye’s overall beef product range from sale in February the company has revealed who supplied it with the contaminated product. Frigilunch N.V. (who supplied the products to Birds Eye) was itself supplied meat with horse in it by an Irish meat processor QK Meats.
A company statement said: “Frigilunch N.V.’s own independent tests and investigation have confirmed our findings. We have reported these findings to the FSA and Frigilunch N.V. has taken immediate action and suspended them as a supplier of meat.
“All other meat suppliers to Frigilunch N.V. have been given the all clear through both Birds Eye’s and Frigilunch N.V.’s separate testing programmes.
The company says it now has a comprehensive DNA testing programme on all its beef meat products is complete. The business said: “In total we have tested 250 products across Europe and confirmed three products as containing horse meat. All other products across our beef range both sold here in the UK and in our other markets in Europe have now been given the all clear and we have submitted our test results to the FSA as requested.
“We have now introduced a new on-going triple lock DNA testing programme that will ensure no minced beef meat product can reach supermarket shelves without first having been cleared by three stages of DNA testing. We are now demanding, and have agreed with all suppliers, that they DNA test all products entering their premises. They will then DNA test products leaving their premises. Birds Eye will then conduct its own DNA tests before products go to shops. We believe this triple lock DNA testing process is the leading way to do this in our industry.”
