Ready meals WON'T be tested for other animals as 850 schools are forced to pull products over horsemeat scandal



Environment Secretary: '99 per cent of products already tested clear'

Retailers will publish remainder of test results on beef products this week

Food company Eden Foodservice pulls four meals from sale to be tested

Company which supplies 850 schools said it was a precautionary measure



50 tons o f illegal meat containing horse and donkey has been found in UK

Meat seized from docks and airports around UK in last seven years alone

Border officials claim they don't have the resources to cope with problem

Ready meals will not be tested for species other than horse, despite the fact that ministers have been advised they should be to restore consumer confidence.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who met with supermarket bosses and food suppliers yesterday, said he expected results from a batch of tests on minced beef products this week.

The news comes as a third of local authorities have ordered DNA tests on school dinners while the NHS has ordered independent tests of all major hospital suppliers for traces of horse meat.



A school meals supplier that provides food to 850 schools has removed four products from its menu to test for the presence of horse meat.

Widening scandal: The UK Border Agency has seized nearly 50 tons of illegal meat containing horse over the last seven years, but officials fear much more may have made its way into the food chain (file picture)

Bid for huge profits: Some of the meat seized from criminal gangs also contained donkey (file picture)

Downing Street said there were no plans for DNA tests – specific to each species – to be done for any other animals. One obvious test would be for pig DNA, following the withdrawal last week of Waitrose beef meatballs which contained pork.

The Commons Environment Committee has recommended more tests to reassure customers after saying the horsemeat discovered so far, such as in Findus lasagne, was probably the tip of the iceberg.



Yesterday, former Labour environment secretary Barry Gardiner, who sits on the committee, said: ‘It’s really not enough to say let’s only test beef products. Anything that is processed meat now needs to come under careful scrutiny by the retailers.



‘Of course it’s expensive, of course they don’t want to cause any further disquiet to their customers but the fact is processed meat is one of the easiest ways of hiding adulteration... it needs to be properly tested to reassure customers.’

A Defra spokesman said: 'We are investigating for horsemeat and pork. If intelligence suggests that other species are being substituted into the food chain then we will of course investigate that and if necessary extend the testing programme.'

The Government is also under pressure to investigate claims it ignored warnings about horsemeat contamination 18 months ago.



Mr Paterson spoke after meeting representatives from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons at Westminster, along with the Institute of Grocery Distribution and the Food and Drink Federation.

He said he hoped consumers had been reassured that 99 per cent of the products already tested were clear of horse DNA.

'The industry today committed to work absolutely as hard as they can to get out the remainder of the results by this Friday and they will be announced by the FSA (Food Standards Agency),' Mr Paterson told Sky News.

Intercepted: The meat was found at Heathrow and Manchester airports, as well as docks at Tilbury (pictured) and Liverpool

WHAT'S BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM SALE SO FAR IN BRITAIN



Tesco

Tesco Everyday Value frozen burgers

Tesco quarter-pounders

Tesco Everyday Value bolognese

Findus lasagne , pictrued



Sainsbury's

Own-brand frozen burgers



Asda

Freeza frozen beefburgers

Asda bolognese sauce, 500g



Waitrose

Dalepak frozen burgers (temporarily suspended from sale)

Own-brand 16 frozen British beef meatballs



The Co-operative

Four beef quarter-pounders

Eight frozen beefburgers with onion



Lidl

Moordale frozen beef quarter-pounders



Iceland

Four-pack of quarter-pounders

Four-pack 100% beef quarter-pounders



Aldi

Frozen Oakhurst 100% beef quarter-pounders

Frozen specially selected Aberdeen Angus quarter-pounders

Frozen Oakhurst beefburgers

Today's special frozen beef lasagne and spaghetti bolognese



Morrisons

Ross four beef quarter-pounders

Dalepak four beef quarter-pounders

Adams beefburger eights

Findus lasagne

'Some may be completed the following week considering the pressure there is on laboratory capacity.'

The Environment Secretary said he would meet industry figures regularly to ensure consumers were getting sound products.

'There was absolute determination in the industry to restore confidence in their products and I am pleased to say we look forward to meeting on a regular basis to absolutely make it clear that when consumers buy a product, they get what they bought,' he said.



The head of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said laboratories were working 'flat out' to complete test results.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s director general, said: 'The labs are working flat out and our members are confident that the vast majority of testing will be completed by Friday.

'We were very pleased that the Secretary of State recognised the hard work of retailers in progressing their testing programmes so quickly.

'Retailers take their responsibilities very seriously and are doing everything they can to maintain consumer confidence and increase surveillance.

'Members are meeting every day with the Food Standards Agency and working around the clock to understand what has happened and act on lesons learned.

'It’s clear that there will be things that need to change for the future as a result of these incidents.

'Retailers are scrutinising their systems and processes, alongside intelligence gathering and sharing to identify practical improvements that will turn the lessons learned into action.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said the meeting was productive and demonstrated how the industry is pulling together to tackle the issues with Government and the FSA.

She said: 'Whilst Sainsbury’s has not been affected, with no horse meat found in any of our products, we are fully committed to playing our part.

'We have used DNA testing for over a decade, and have a very comprehensive approach to quality control and product testing across all of our ranges from basics to Taste the Difference.'



It comes as it was revealed nearly 50 tons of illegal meat containing horse and donkey has been seized in the UK in last seven years alone.

The consignments were intercepted by border officials at major airports and docks around the country, some of them even in passengers' luggage.



In a worrying sign that the horse meat scandal may be far more widespread than previously thought, officials say they are struggling to cope with the influx of dodgy goods from Eastern Europe.

It also emerged this afternoon that French meat processing firm Spanghero will be allowed to produce certain types of meat after France partially lifted its licence suspension.

A government source told the Daily Mirror: 'It's mainly horse and donkey meat from Eastern Europe as it's so cheap for the gangs to get.

'We find a lot of small quantities of meat in passengers' luggage as they was a taste of home. But we know the gangs smuggle in big quantities. We just don't have the resources to check everything.'

The meat was found at Heathrow and Manchester airports as well as docks at Tilbury in Essex and Liverpool.

It was not passed on for human consumption and was later destroyed.

But there are concerns the meat contained disease, particularly products from Bulgaria, where there was an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2011.

Horse found in UK supermarkets have been traced to a slaughterhouse in Romania, where a gang dubbed the Horse Mafia have reportedly been buying wild animals from peasants illegally for just £10.

These are then sold for vast profits to processing plants, where they passed off as beef in burgers and ready meals.

Today, the BBC reported French meat processing firm Spanghero has had the suspension of licence partially lifted.

Stepping in: Environment Secretary Owen Paterson (pictured) was due to meet representatives of leading supermarkets to press them to do more to restore public confidence in food following the horse meat scandal Crisis talks: Tesco Technical Director Tim Smith (left) and Iceland Chief Executive Malcolm Walker (right) arrive for a meeting with Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to face questions over the horse meat scandal The company will now be allowed to resume production of minced meat, sausages and ready-to-eat meals. It won't, however, be allowed to stock frozen meat. France suspended Spanghero's licence last week after accusing the firm of knowingly selling horse meat labelled as beef. The company denies the allegation. Mr Paterson yesterday called for a Europe-wide overhaul of meat testing, saying the current system relies too heavily on trusting paperwork that comes with meat shipments. 'The whole problem we have is that the system ... which is laid down from above trusts the paperwork,' he told Sky News’s Murnaghan programme. 'So it trusts that the pallet conforms to the piece of paper.

'No-one checks what is on the pallet often enough, no-one checks what is in production often enough, no-one checks the finished product often enough. 'We have agreed in this particular issue there will be Europe-wide testing for horse DNA, there will be Europe-wide testing for bute, which is a major advance. 'When this is through I want to have a proper look at the whole system.' Mr Paterson also said he had asked the Food Standards Agency to investigate claims that Government ministers were warned in 2011 that horse meat was illegally entering the human food chain. John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service, now part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), told the Sunday Times he helped draft a letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April that year. But he told the paper the letter to former minister Sir Jim Paice on behalf of Britain’s largest horse meat exporter, High Peak Meat Exports, which warned that flesh with possible drug residue getting into food could blow up into a scandal, was ignored. Sir Jim said he did not remember seeing the warnings. Ready for a head-to-head: ASDA Corporate Affairs Director Paul Kelly (left) and ASDA Chief Executive Officer Andy Clarke (right) arrive for the crisis meeting at Defra headquarters in London Meanwhile, a school meals provider has removed four products from its menu to test for the presence of horse meat. Eden Foodservice, which supplies meals to 850 secondary, primary and nursery schools across the country, has withdrawn the dishes as a precaution. The firm's supplier is now conducting tests on its pasta sauce with meatballs, pasta sauce with bolognese, sliced roast beef and traditional Cornish pasties. Lizzie Woolley, spokesman for the Surrey-based firm, said: 'We are extremely confident that no contamination has occurred in any of our beef products as a result of robust due diligence processes we have in place with our suppliers. 'However, as an added precaution we are removing a small number of beef products from sale until we have received the satisfactory guarantees from our suppliers.' Tense times: Institute of Grocery Distributors Chief Executive Joanne Denney-Finch (left) and British Meat Processors Association Director Stephen Rossides (right) ahead of the horse meat meeting with Mr Paterson Discussions: Steve Murrells (right), Chief Executive of Co-operative stores, makes his way to the Defra meeting

'QUARTER OF SHOPPERS WILL NOW BUY LESS PROCESSED MEAT'

The buying habits of consumers are set to be transformed by the horse meat scandal, new research suggests. Almost one quarter (24per cent) of shoppers will buy less processed meat, and more than a fifth (21per cent) have already started buying less meat in general, according to the findings gathered from a survey by researchers Consumer Intelligence. The research also found that about 4.1 million people who previously bought processed meat said they would stop doing so altogether. The effect of the scandal on unprocessed meat sales is less clear, with 25per cent of people saying they would now buy more unprocessed meat like joints, chops or steaks instead of processed meats. A further 19per cent would like to do this, but said they could not afford to. Vegetarianism seems set for a boost, with 6per cent of adults claiming they know someone who has turned vegetarian as a result of the crisis, the survey said. The scandal has significantly eroded public trust in the food they buy, as 67per cent of respondents, equivalent to more than 32 million people, said they now trusted food labels less than before.

And 62per cent said they were now more likely to buy their meat from independent butchers. Not all consumers have been put off by the scandal, however, as around 12 million people (25per cent) would knowingly eat horse meat and a further 16 million (33per cent) would consider doing so. David Black of Consumer Intelligence said: 'Our findings show that this scandal has really hit consumers hard, be it through having to change their shopping habits or altering the fundamentals of their diet. 'The main issue is about being able to trust that what the label says you’re eating is what you’re actually eating.' The survey was completed by 2,257 British adults and comparative figures are based on the UK population aged 20 or over being 48,085,000.

Tests have already revealed no evidence of contamination in the Cornish pasty dish, which is made with beef skirt, and Eden is still supplying schools with un-processed beef products.

In 2007, Eden Foodservice won a £40 million deal to provide school meals in Bristol for eight years.

The contract, which was worth £5 million in annual turnover, was previously run in-house by the council.

A city council spokeswoman said affected schools had received letters from Eden explaining why the meals had been withdrawn.

She said: 'The council demands high quality from its school meals contractors, specifically that they use good quality ingredients and 90 per cent of dishes are fresh and home-made.

'All our school meals providers are accredited with Red Tractor awards which means all meat is sourced from reputable suppliers, animals are looked after, meat is good quality and the supply chain can be traced back to a UK source.'

The announcement from Eden came after it emerged that a food supplier with a plant in Bradley Stoke, Bristol, had been caught up in the horse meat scandal.

Greencore confirmed it supplied the Chosen By You Beef Bolognese Sauce that Asda withdrew from sale after traces of horse DNA were found during screening tests.

The firm, which makes own label sandwiches and chilled convenience food for the UK's biggest supermarket chains, said all other products from the factory have tested negative for equine DNA.

It has launched a 'thorough and comprehensive' investigation into how Asda's Chosen By You 350g Beef Bolognese Sauce came to show 4.8 per cent of equine DNA.

The Bristol factory, which employs around 200 staff and is one of 23 facilities that the company runs across the UK and United States, was the subject of a 'full deep clean shutdown' over the weekend.

The majority of Dublin-based Greencore's products are sandwiches and prepared meals. Its Bristol site specialises in chilled soups and sauces.

Asda took the bolognese sauce off the shelves last week and temporarily withdrew other Greencore products as a precautionary measure. However, Greencore said tests of its other products had all proved negative for horse DNA.

According to the food maker, the meat contained within its products is supplied by regularly audited companies, which insist they in turn use approved suppliers.

The company said Asda was supportive of its plans to implement additional species screening procedures to avoid further contamination.

'In conjunction with independent experts, its customers and key suppliers, the company has launched a thorough and comprehensive investigation to fully determine how this incident could have occurred,' it said in a statement today.

Greencore's Beef Bolognese Sauce product represented £300,000 million of the total group's £1.1 billion turnover in its last financial year. It said products containing beef related ingredients account for less than 10% of overall revenue.

Caught up in scandal: Bristol-based food supplier Greencore (above) confirmed it had supplied the Chosen By You Beef Bolognese Sauce that Asda withdrew from sale after traces of horse DNA were found On alert: The factory (above) was the subject of a 'full deep clean shutdown' over the weekend

Tests on 2,501 beef products last week revealed 29 positive results, relating to Aldi’s special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland’s catering burger products, and Tesco value frozen burgers and value spaghetti bolognese.

Pub and hotel group Whitbread pulled lasagne and burgers from their menus after revealing they had become the latest company to admit horse DNA had been found in its food.

Horse meat was also discovered in school dinners, with cottage pies testing positive for horse DNA sent to 47 Lancashire schools before being withdrawn.

Malcolm Walker, chief executive of frozen food firm Iceland, said the blame for contamination lay less with supermarkets and more with the catering industry and local authorities who provide school and hospital meal, saying their drive to pay less and less for food was driving down quality.

'If we’re going to blame somebody, let’s start with local authorities because there’s a whole side to this industry which is invisible,' he said.

'That’s the catering industry. Schools, hospitals - it’s massive business for cheap food and local authorities award contracts based purely on one thing: price.

'So, if you’re looking to blame somebody who’s driving down food quality, it’s invisible. It’s schools, it’s hospitals, it’s prisons, it’s local authorities who are driving this down.'

The Local Government Association (LGA) said Mr Walker was 'a little confused'.

'The law is 100 per cent clear that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer, supplier and retailer to make sure the product they sell us is what they say it is,' an LGA spokesman said.