Europe horsemeat contamination scandal reaches Asia

The ongoing horsemeat scandal, which started in Europe, has now spread to Asia where an imported brand of beef lasagna has been removed from shelves in Hong Kong over horsemeat contamination concerns.

The Hong Kong government has advised people not to consume Findus brand’s readymade beef lasagna imported from Europe, following reports that the product contains horse DNA.

According to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong, the European Commission’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) identified horse DNA in the beef lasagna, which is produced by the British company and packaged by the French firm Comigel in Luxembourg.

CFS has ordered retailers to halt the sale of Findus Beef Lasagna, and is awaiting test results for the presence of equine painkiller phenylbutazone, or ‘bute’, a drug that is unsafe for human consumption.

The horsemeat contaminated beef was imported by ParknShop, a Hong Kong-based supermarket chain which has more than 260 stores in Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland.

The retailer and its subsidiary outlets, Great and Taste, sold the 360g packs of Findus Beef Lasagna at its stores across the country.

The CFS also has conducted checks at other retail outlets in Hong Kong; however, it did not find any affected product available for sale.

Meanwhile in Europe, Bulgaria, Portugal and Spain have become the latest countries to detect horse meat in food products sold as beef.

In addition, Russia is considering imposing a suspension on meat imports from European Union nations and is seeking a guarantee from the EU that meat products are free from horsemeat.

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Image: The Hong Kong government has advised people not to consume Findus beef lasagna imported from Europe, following reports that the product contains horse DNA. Photo courtesy of the Centre for Food Safety.