Horsemeat was found in several burgers in some of Ireland's and the UK's most visited supermarkets. The small traces of horsemeat DNA were detected when scientists ran some tests on the beef products that were sold in Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland supermarkets. A representative of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) stated that although there is no health concern or safety risk there is also no logical explanation for the horsemeat being there, UK Yahoo reported on Jan. 15.
Prof Reilly of the FSAI says,
"Whilst there is a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants, there is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horse meat in their production process.In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horse meat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger. "
According to the FSAI, the burgers were produced by two processing plants in Ireland. Following the horsemeat discovery, a spokeswoman for Tesco (one of the supermarket chains involved), said they were cooperating with officials in Ireland, UK and their suppliers to try to make sure this issue never happens again. A company representative gave the following statement,
"The safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco. We will not tolerate any compromise in the quality of the food we sell. The presence of illegal meat in our products is extremely serious."
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