Environment and Sustainability Committee
E&S(4)-07-13 paper 1
Contamination of meat products – Evidence from the Food Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency
The FSA is a non Ministerial Government Department established in April 2000 under the Food Standards Act 1999 to protect the public’s health and consumer interests in relation to food. As a Government Department, independent regulator and consumer protection body the FSA makes use of the best available evidence working with businesses to help them produce safe food, and with local authorities to enforce food safety regulations.
The FSA is a UK-wide department operating in an area of devolved responsibility. The FSA is accountable to the UK Parliament and to the parliament and assemblies in the devolved UK nations. The functions of the FSA include advising Ministers in each of the four administrations on issues within its remit. The remit of the FSA in Wales includes food safety, food standards (labelling other than nutrition labelling, composition and authenticity) and animal feed.
Genesis of the current incident
On 15 January 2012, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued a press release detailing the results of a small survey of processed beef products for DNA of other species. Tests had been conducted on 27 samples of burger and 50 samples of other food products (31 beef meat and 19 salami). Results indicated that many of the products contained traces of pork DNA (equivalent to less than 0.1% of the total meat content of the product being pork). Nine of the burgers showed traces of horse DNA and in one of the burgers, a Tesco Everyday Value product, the result indicated that horse constituted 29% of the total meat content.
The Tesco Everyday Value product had been manufactured by Silvercrest in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). The burgers with traces of horse DNA had been produced by Liffey Foods (RoI) and Dalepak (England). Burgers containing traces of pork DNA had been produced by each of these three plants..
The FSA had received limited information from the FSAI in advance of this announcement. In November 2012, at a regular liaison meeting between FSA and FSAI, the FSA was informed that FSAI was developing a methodology for testing for horse DNA in meat products, and that FSAI would keep FSA informed. FSA offered to conduct a joint sampling initiative at some time in the future should the methodology prove robust.. On 10 January 2013, the FSAI then advised the FSA they were undertaking some authenticity checks on meat products. On 14 January FSAI told the FSA that contamination had been identified and that some of the products implicated were distributed to Tesco and Iceland across the UK and to Lidl stores in Northern Ireland.
The FSA launched an urgent investigation and continues to work closely with other Government departments, local authorities and the food industry. In its four-point plan, published on 16 January, the FSA committed:
1) To continue the urgent review of the traceability of the food products identified in FSAI survey.
2) To explore further, in conjunction with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the methodology used for the survey to understand more clearly the factors that may have led to the low level cases of cross-contamination.
3) To consider, with relevant local authorities and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, whether any legal action is appropriate following the investigation.
4) To work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the devolved rural affairs departments and local authorities on a UK-wide study of food authenticity in processed meat products.
Horse meat and risks
Horse meat, when hygienically produced in approved premises, is no more or less risky than other meat. There are five abattoirs in the UK approved to slaughter horses. None of these is located in Wales. Approximately 10,000 horses were slaughtered for human consumption in these abattoirs last year and virtually all would have been exported to continental Europe, mainly France, Belgium and Italy.
Concerns have been raised over the presence of a commonly used veterinary medicine, phenylbutazone or “bute”, in horse meat produced in the UK. Controls are in place to exclude horse meat containing “bute” from the food chain as in humans this chemical can cause a rare but serious blood disorder. On the basis of current evidence, it is not possible to identify a safe level of residues of “bute” in meat, but the Chief Medical Officer for England has advised that any risks from the consumption of horse meat containing “bute” would be very low.
As part of the system of controls the FSA, as the enforcing authority at abattoirs, has implemented a “positive release” system for horses slaughtered in the UK. This means that no horse carcase is released from the abattoir into the food chain until and unless it has tested negative for “bute”
The burgers that tested positive for horse DNA in the original FSAI survey were also tested for the presence of “bute” and all of the results were negative
Food labelling and authenticity
It appears to the FSA that there are two different types of contamination occurring,
Where there is gross contamination, such as the Tesco Everyday Value burger implicated in the original FSAI survey, it is difficult to see how this could have arisen other than as a result of gross incompetence or deliberate substitution of horse meat for beef at some stage in its production.
The Food Labelling Regulations 1996 require that food is labelled with a minimum amount of information, including a list of ingredients. Any substance that has been deliberately added during the production of that food must be included in the list of food ingredients.
Where trace levels of DNA of other species has been detected in processed beef products, it is possible that this has arisen through cross-contamination or carry-over between different product lines at some stage in the food chain. Traces of a substance not deliberately added during the production of a food need not be included in the list of food ingredients. However, it is the responsibility of food businesses at each stage in the chain to ensure that appropriate food safety and standards management systems are in place to address any risks such as cross-contamination or carry-over between batches.
UK sampling of processed beef products for horse meat
The FSA provided funding of £1.6m in 2012/13 to UK local authorities for the purpose of a national co-ordinated sampling and surveillance programme of food. This programme supplements other sampling activity undertaken by local authorities, and aims to help ensure risk-based targeted checks at ports and throughout the food chain. The key criteria for deciding what checks are conducted within this programme are:
· that there is evidence of a particular food or animal feed concern;
· that the issue relates to public health or consumer protection;
· that the issue is enforceable; and
· that analytical methods are readily available.
Sampling and analysis of processed beef products for horse meat has not been included in FSA-funded programmes since 2003 as, from that time up until the FSAI survey published last month, there has been no evidence or intelligence indicating that this is a significant concern.
Following the publication of the FSAI survey, the FSA was informed on 7 February of results which showed gross contamination by horsemeat of a Findus beef lasagne product. The supply chain leading to this product was entirely distinct from the supply chain leading to the Tesco Everyday Value burger product in the FSAI survey. The FSA therefore announced, that day, it was requiring the food industry to test all product lines of processed beef products such as beefburgers, meatballs and lasagne for gross contamination with horse meat (i.e. where undeclared horse meat present in a processed meat product represents at least 1% of the meat content), and that these results of these tests would be published.
The first set of industry results were reported by the FSA on 15 February. Of 2.501 test results, 29 tests were positive for horse meat above the 1% reporting limit, relating to seven products which the food industry had already reported to the FSA and which had been withdrawn from sale. We’ll be releasing the next set of results this Friday.Further results will be published on 22 February and 29 February.
In parallel, the FSA has continued the UK-wide survey of processed beef products that forms part of the four-point plan announced on 16 January. This survey involves the taking of formal samples by local authorities across the UK which can be relied on if formal enforcement action is needed. In the first phase of the investigation, 224 samples of raw minced beef products have been taken, including burgers, minced beef, beef sausage or meat balls were checked for horse and pork DNA. The second phase of this survey consists of 140 samples of beef-based ready-meals such as frozen, chilled or canned lasagne, chilli con carne, cottage pie, ravioli, cannelloni and spaghetti bolognese. A further, third phase is being designed to respond to the European Commission recommendation of co-ordinated testing in every Member State. The FSA will publish the results of these tests from the end of February.
Investigating the food supply chain
The FSA has audited records from approved horse abattoirs in the UK, which led to investigations at Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and Farmbox Meats Ltd, Llandre, Aberystwyth. As a result of these investigations, conducted with Dyfed-Powys Police and West Yorkshire Police, three people were arrested on 14 February on suspicion of offences under the Fraud Act.
FSA officers entered three further premises in England with local authorities and the police on 14 February, one in Hull and two in Tottenham. Computers and documentary evidence have been removed from these premises, as well as meat samples that have been taken for testing.
The FSA has submitted a full file and evidence on this issue to Europol. The Agency has continued to provide information to Europol and this information has now been analysed by both Europol and law enforcement agencies in 35 countries – across Europe and elsewhere.
These investigations continue.
Timeline (to 20 February)
15 January 2013 FSAI issued a press release reporting that analysis carried out on some of the meat products that had been tested, including beef burgers, contained horse and pig DNA
16 January 2013 FSA announces it is investigating urgently and outlines the four point plan for investigation
18 January 2013 Results of all burgers tested for bute are found to be negative
24 January 2013 FSA reiterates that horses treated with bute are not allowed in food chain
25 January 2013 FSA announces it has results of tests conducted by North Yorkshire Trading Standards.
1 February 2013 FSA announces it has called an urgent meeting of major retailers and suppliers on 4 February
4 February 2013 FSA and industry agree to publish testing programme
Horse meat is found in a Northern Ireland cold store
6 February 2013 Meat testing protocol published
7 February 2013 Findus Beef Lasagne products test positive for horse meat
FSA announces it is requiring a more robust response from industry
8 February 2013 FSA announces it has involved the police both here and in Europe
Aldi finds horse meat in beef lasagne and spaghetti bolognaise
9 February 2013 FSA and Defra demand more authenticity tests are carried out on all beef products
10 February 2013 FSA issues advice to public institutions
11 February 2013 FSA announces it has begun a system of positive release for horses slaughtered in the UK to ensure horse meat containing bute does not enter the food chain.
Tesco find horse meat in some Everyday Value Spaghetti bolognaise
12 February 2013 FSA enters Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, Todmorden and Farmbox, Llandre with police
14 February 2013 Arrests made by Dyfed-Powys Police on suspicion of offences under the Fraud Act
Rangeland Foods withdraws burgers due to horse meat contamination
Publication of latest bute test results on horse carcasses slaughtered in the UK
15 February 2013 FSA publishes first tranche of industry DNA test results on beef products
FSA announces seizures of evidence in Hull and London
19 February 2013 FSA meat testing survey expanded
20 February 2013 Castell Howell Food Limited withdraws cottage pies as a precautionary measure.