— Hospitals and meals on wheels suspect too
Slaughter ... beheaded horse at abattoir in Rungis, France
Rex
Published: 09th February 2013
HORSE meat could have ended up on British plates due to an "international criminal conspiracy" the Environment Secretary said today.
MP Owen Patterson delivered the blunt warning as school dinners are being tested for horse amid fears millions of kids have been fed contaminated beef.
Police were yesterday called in to probe the scandal as No 10 refused to rule out the possibility nags were being served up to schools, hospitals and meals on wheels services.
Privately, industry experts admitted horse meat could be ANYWHERE as the crisis spiralled into a national food scare.
Mr Patterson said selling horse products marked as beef was a "fraud on the public".
After attending an emergency meeting with bosses from leading supermarkets and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discuss the scandal, Mr Paterson said retailers would have to start doing their own testing.
“Ultimate responsibility for the integrity of what is sold on their label has to lie with the retailer”, Mr Paterson said.
Shocking ... range of products contaminated with horse meat
He warned of a possible “international criminal conspiracy” being behind the scandal.
“If there’s a criminal act we will work with the authorities wherever they are to ensure the appropriate measures are taken,” he added.
“It’s a straight fraud. If a product says it’s beef and you’re actually buying horse, that is a fraud.
“It is in the interests of everyone to get this resolved as rapidly as possible.”
Last night Aldi revealed that tests on its Today’s Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today’s Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese showed they contained between 30 and 100 per cent horse. Both have been withdrawn.
The store blasted its supplier, French firm Comigel.
An Aldi spokesman said: “We feel angry and let down. If the label says beef, our customers expect it to be beef.”
As the scandal widened, FSA chiefs urged people not to panic but NOT eat meals known to be affected.
Mr Paterson met supermarkets today to discuss the growing crisis.
But he insisted he would have no problem eating ready meals. When asked last night if he would tuck into a frozen
Findus lasagne, he replied: “Personally, I would, yes. The FSA has been quite clear, these are shocking cases of mislabelling but there is no material so far which suggests a threat to human health.”
Yesterday, the FSA watchdog confirmed it had asked British police to investigate. It said: “The evidence we have points to either gross negligence or deliberate contamination in the food chain.”
FSA chief Catherine Brown said: “This is an appalling situation. I have to say the cases of gross contamination that we see here indicates that it is highly likely there has been criminal and fraudulent activity involved.”
Furious shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh handed cops information on “several” UK companies believed to be importing horse meat.
Industry experts say that from these firms it makes its way everywhere — from schools to cafes, pubs and restaurants.
One Hull-based importer, Flexi Foods — which supplies schools and market stalls — admitted yesterday that it was being investigated by the FSA.
It was the source of beef in a Northern Irish food store found to contain 80 per cent horse meat. Ms Creagh said: “I have been given information about British companies who may potentially be involved in the illegal horse meat trade.
“I am keen to share this information with the police to ensure a full investigation can be made into any criminal activity.”
The startling move came as it emerged Findus may have been selling contaminated beef lasagne in the UK since August. The FSA said on Thursday that 11 samples of the food giant’s popular dish contained between 60 and 100 per cent horse meat.
Order ... Owen Paterson
London News Pictures
Worried supermarkets and corner shops were frantically pulling the product off shelves yesterday. In a grovelling statement, Findus said: “We are sorry that we have let people down.”
The firm and others caught up in the scandal could now face paying out millions in compensation.
Consumer experts say sickened shoppers can sue for up to £10,000 for “mental anguish” — up to £75,000 if they could prove eating horse made them suicidal.
Dean Dunham, of You and Your Rights, said: “If the idea you consumed horse meat causes you mental torture you would have a claim.”
The source of many of the contaminated products is French supplier Comigel’s factory in Luxembourg. The firm, with an annual turn-over of at least £50million, faces prosecution for fraud in France.
Paris prosecutors said: “It is not a food safety problem but one of falsification and fraud.” Insiders said any firm found to be selling horse as beef faced “huge fines”.
Meanwhile, Comigel boss Erich Lehagre admitted the horse meat came from an abattoir in Romania and had passed through processing firm Spanghero in France. But he insisted: “We are a responsible firm.”
PM: Take the reins
FURIOUS David Cameron last night ordered under-fire Environment Secretary Owen Paterson back to London to get a grip of the horse meat scandal.
Mr Paterson — hauled back from his North Shropshire constituency — will hold emergency talks with retailers and suppliers today.
Polo player ... owner Lyndon Lea
polophoto
No10 also ordered the minister to stage media interviews to calm mounting public alarm.
He had been branded “invisible” by MPs for his low profile in the crisis so far.
However, Downing Street insisted that the PM still had “full confidence” in him.
Mr Paterson’s department said he had been working on the crisis from his constituency and was coming to London to meet firms and “make sure they know what’s in their products”.
But Labour MP Barry Gardiner rapped: “He needs to get a grip.”
Fears for Findus
THERE were fears for Findus last night — just months after the polo-playing owner appeared to secure its future.
Lyndon Lea runs private equity group Lion Capital, which led a restructuring in October.
He owns a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, and his polo team won the US championship in 2012. But experts said Findus Group — which racked up losses of £385million in 2011 — was fighting for its life over the horse meat scandal.
One source said: “They’ve been whittling away at costs for ages. And I’m worried what’s happened is the result of that.”
Meanwhile, TV chef Jamie Oliver’s advisers last night insisted he was not worried that the seafood range carrying his name is made by Findus’s sister company, Young’s.
A spokesman said: “This does not affect the Jamie Oliver range in any way.”
