My Little...

... Pony was one of my favourite toys when I was much younger than I am now. But what has this got to do with the news recently? Well the biggest story which has been reoccurring over the last few weeks is the mislabelling of foods and the discovery of traces of horsemeat in ready meals and products containing processed meats. So what foods have been affected, how did this happen and what's being done about it? That's what I'm going to be looking at now.

What?

The first products to be unveiled as containing traces of horsemeat were processed frozen burgers from Tesco and Iceland. Both stores removed their own brand burgers from the freezers following the allegations made by the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI), after 27 burgers (beef) were analysed; they found that 10 of them contained horse DNA and 23 contained pig DNA.

A further 31 beef meal products were analysed (including; cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne), with 21 of the products testing positive for pig DNA.

Other stores have also chosen to remove beef products containing traces of animals other than cows from their shelves, including LIDL and Waitrose. Horsemeat has also been found in schools and hospitals too.

Although there are currently no suggested risks to health, there is clearly an issue with the ethical means of these products as well a moral issue with the labelling of food.

How?

It is suggested that many of the affected products have been shipped in from other countries, where the products are created and the ingredients are sourced.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) revealed that banned drug bute had probably entered the food chain through the introduction of horsemeat in the meals and products. This painkiller is potentially dangerous for humans but medical officers say a person would need to consume 500 horse burgers a day to reach a harmful dose. 

It has been suggested that traces of pig could have contaminated beef products purely by accident due to factories working with a variety of meat. Obviously this can still be criticised as labels should clearly  inform the consumer of all the ingredients which can be found in a product for legal reasons.

The other how which is important, is how did this issue pass by unnoticed by the FSA until now. This even bigger issue is the fact that the government was warned about rouge horsemeat two years ago and it has taken until now for it to be determined that horsemeat with drug residue has entered the food chain.

Next?

The FSA are currently carrying out even more tests into products and companies will be expected to make changes; either in the labelling and naming of their products or as to where they source ingredients. 

With stores currently removing contaminated products from there shelves and other products coming under scrutiny many people are turning to their local butcher in their hour of need. If you want locally sourced meat that you can trust then that's the place to go until the scandal is over. Homemade pies and lasagne are also much healthier for your family as the pre-packed equivalent often has excessive salt content and very little meat. Also if you are scared of what store bought mince contains the vegetarian equivalent is just as tasty and is pretty healthy too, so why not try Quorn or soya mince in your next spaghetti bolognese.

Opinion

It is usually at this point in the creation of my blog post that I rant and moan about the issues being covered in the rest of the post, but my rant isn't about the alien meat in the products but in peoples' reactions. When the initial discovery of horsemeat in UK burgers was reported people were disgusted by the idea that horses were being killed to be eaten. Do people find eating horse repulsive because we ride horses and see them as pets?

Other countries across Europe eat horse freely, often in factories from which UK products are sourced. If you are buying meat products from stores which purchase from these factories then you are supporting the killing and distribution of horse, whether it is in the product or not. 

It is much more reasonable for people to be disgusted at the fact we are being misled by these companies because their labelling is incorrect. We should be angry because we are eating things unknowingly, not because we are eating horse when we are happy to eat cows, pigs, sheep etc. 

To prove the point that it is possible for a carnivorous animal such as ourselves to cut meat out of their diet and eat a healthy diet of trusted ingredients I have decided to attempt the vegetarian way of life, firstly for lent, then hopefully for the considerable future.