Nearly 5% of beef products in Europe contaminated with horse meat

Tests conducted on beef products across Europe have revealed that nearly 5% of the products contained horsemeat, with the percentage higher in some countries including Greece and France, according to a report published by the European Commission.

The tests also identified that nearly 0.5% of the equine carcasses tested contained phenylbutazone, also known as bute – a painkiller used on animals that presents a health risk for humans.

The testing for horsemeat DNA and phenylbutazone was launched in February after horsemeat was found in beef products in several European countries, a development which prompted recalls by food manufacturers and supermarkets as well as investigations by authorities.

About 7,259 tests were carried out by the competent authorities in the 27 EU countries, of which 4,144 tested for the presence of horsemeat DNA and 3,115 tested for the presence of phenylbutazone.

The results revealed that 193 tests confirmed positive traces of horsemeat DNA (4.66%), while 16 showed positive traces of bute (0.51%).

In addition, member states reported that in testing conducted by food business operators, it was found that of 7,951 samples tested, about 110 contained horsemeat DNA (1.38%).

EU health commissioner Tonio Borg said, "Today’s findings have confirmed that this is a matter of food fraud and not of food safety."

"Restoring the trust and confidence of European consumers and trading partners in our food chain following this fraudulent labelling scandal is now of vital importance for the European economy given that the food sector is the largest single economic sector in the EU.

"In the coming months, the Commission will propose to strengthen the controls along the food chain in line with lessons learned," Borg added.

France had the highest level of horsemeat contamination – out of 353 samples, 47 tested positive.

Greece had the second-highest level of horsemeat contamination – of 288 tests carried out, 36 tested positive for horse DNA, which accounts for more than 13%, while Latvia, Denmark and Estonia had a contamination rate of 10%.

In Germany, horsemeat contamination in tests was 3.3%, and in the Netherlands, the level was less than 1%.

Tests on samples from Ireland and UK showed no positive results for horsemeat.

The member states’ experts are planning to meet at the Commission on 19 April to decide on the extension of the EU coordinated monitoring plan, which focuses on controls that investigate the fraudulent practices and on ways to restore consumer confidence.

The horsemeat scandal began in mid-January, when Ireland’s food safety watchdog announced that it had found traces of horse DNA in burger products sold by major British and Irish supermarkets.

Subsequently, several products were recalled across Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway over horsemeat contamination, while food manufacturers and supermarkets were asked to test beef products for horse DNA.

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Image: The testing for horsemeat DNA and phenylbutazone was launched in February after horsemeat was found in beef products in several European countries. Photo courtesy of Koos Schwaneberg.