Horse Meat Scandal Widens in Europe

By Josh Long

LONDONEuropean law enforcement authorities and regulators are investigating a network of food suppliers, grocery stores and other companies following revelations in recent weeks that horse meat was detected in beef sold in the United Kingdom. The growing probes could result in a substantial number of civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions, potentially rattling consumer confidence in a global food supply chain.

Some news reports traced the contaminated food to Romania, although new details are emerging every day in what is likely to be a months-long investigation across Europe. The United Kingdom-based Food Safety Agency (FSA) has no evidence to date that the recalled products present a health risk to consumers, Owen Paterson, the UK's Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said Feb. 11 in a statement.

Contamination Possibly Deliberate

"There appears to have been criminal activity in an attempt to defraud the consumer," he said separately in the House of Commons. "The prime responsibility for dealing with this lies with retailers and food producers who need to demonstrate that they have taken all necessary actions to ensure the integrity of the food chain in this country."

Paterson noted the FSA is leading the probes in collaboration with authorities in other European countries and the police. "The evidence we have about the two cases of the significant amount of horse meat in burgers and lasagne, points to either gross negligence or deliberate contamination in the food chain," FSA explains on its website. "This is why we have already involved the police, both here and in Europe."

Burgers, Lasagna Recalled After Horse Meat Detected

Discount supermarket chain Aldi, frozen food supplier Findus, the UK supermarket Tesco PLC and French wholesale food supplier Comigel are among the companies that are embroiled in the scandal.

Findus and Aldi recalled lasagna and burgers after discovering the food contained horse meat. FSA said it ordered Findus to test beef lasagna containing horse meat for a veterinarian drug that may pose a risk to human health. Findus confirmed the horsemeat was present in a number of samples it tested.

Aldi traced its contaminated "Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne" and "Today's Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese" to Comigel, the wholesale foods supplier in France. FSA said Comigel also supplied the horse meat products to Findus.

"In light of the latest information from Aldi, the Food Safety Agency recommends that any retailers or producers that have sourced beef products from the French company Comigel should conduct a precautionary withdrawal of product," the agency said Feb. 8.

Findus, Comigel Point Fingers

Comigel now faces worldwide scrutiny and potential civil liability. "Comigel will end up in a lot of legal processes going forward, I imagine," Findus Nordic CEO Jari Latvanen told CNN. "Comigel is the villain."

Erick Lehagre, the head of Comigel, told Agency France-Presse he had been convinced that meat supplied by another French firm Spanghero was exclusively beef. "Our company was fooled," he said.

France will seek sanctions for negligence or fraud, Bloomberg reported.

In a statement Jan. 30, Tesco said its supplier of frozen burgers, Silvercrest Foods, had used meat in products that did not originate from a list of approved suppliers. The meat didn't originate from the UK or Ireland.

Tim Smith, Group Technical Director of Tesco PLC, said the company has stopped using Silvercrest and will introduce DNA testing across all its meat products. On Feb. 11, Smith said most tests of a spaghetti bolognese product that was recalled showed trace levels of horse DNA of less than 1%; but three tests showed levels of horse DNA exceeding 60%bringing Comigel into the fray.

"The source of the horsemeat is still under investigation by the relevant authorities," he said. "The level of contamination suggests that Comigel was not following the appropriate production process for our Tesco product and we will not take food from their facility again."