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| Tesco drops Irish supplier over horsemeat scandal | |
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| Tesco has sacked one of its main suppliers because of the horsemeat in burgers scandal, the company has said. | Tesco has sacked one of its main suppliers because of the horsemeat in burgers scandal, the company has said. |
| Britain's largest supermarket chain said on Wednesday that one of the biggest burger plants in Europe had failed to source, as demanded, all ingredients from the UK and Ireland and had been dropped for "breach of trust". The meat used in Tesco burgers found to have up to 29% horse DNA had instead come from Poland. | Britain's largest supermarket chain said on Wednesday that one of the biggest burger plants in Europe had failed to source, as demanded, all ingredients from the UK and Ireland and had been dropped for "breach of trust". The meat used in Tesco burgers found to have up to 29% horse DNA had instead come from Poland. |
| The retailer said the findings from its investigations concurred with those of the Irish government. It would now start its own system of comprehensive DNA testing. | The retailer said the findings from its investigations concurred with those of the Irish government. It would now start its own system of comprehensive DNA testing. |
| Tesco, Iceland, Lidl and Aldi were the UK supermarkets identified a fortnight ago as having products with equine DNA in them by Irish food safety authorities although not all the products implicated had been on sale in Britain. | Tesco, Iceland, Lidl and Aldi were the UK supermarkets identified a fortnight ago as having products with equine DNA in them by Irish food safety authorities although not all the products implicated had been on sale in Britain. |
| Other supermarkets took their burgers off the shelves as a precaution. Tesco's supplier Silvercrest, in County Monaghan, which normally makes 200m burgers a year for different clients, was one of three food processors identified. The Silvercrest plant, which is part of ABP Food Group, has been shut down for deep cleaning, the management has been changed and the Irish government is going to supervise the processor's operations indefinitely. | Other supermarkets took their burgers off the shelves as a precaution. Tesco's supplier Silvercrest, in County Monaghan, which normally makes 200m burgers a year for different clients, was one of three food processors identified. The Silvercrest plant, which is part of ABP Food Group, has been shut down for deep cleaning, the management has been changed and the Irish government is going to supervise the processor's operations indefinitely. |
| Investigations at the only UK plant, Dalepak Hampleton in North Yorkshire, also owned by ABP, are continuing, although it is still in operation. | Investigations at the only UK plant, Dalepak Hampleton in North Yorkshire, also owned by ABP, are continuing, although it is still in operation. |
| Tim Smith, Tesco's technical director, said: "We now understand – with as much certainty as possible – what happened. The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them. | Tim Smith, Tesco's technical director, said: "We now understand – with as much certainty as possible – what happened. The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them. |
| "Nor was the meat from the UK or Ireland, despite our instruction that only beef from the UK and Ireland should be used in our frozen beef burgers. Consequently we have decided not to take products from that supplier in future." | "Nor was the meat from the UK or Ireland, despite our instruction that only beef from the UK and Ireland should be used in our frozen beef burgers. Consequently we have decided not to take products from that supplier in future." |
| Smith said Tesco was ultimately responsible for the food it sold. "We will not take anything for granted after this incident. It has shown that, in spite of our stringent tests, checks and controls there remained a small possibility that something could go wrong and it did. We want to stop it ever happening again, so we are taking action to reduce that possibility still further. | Smith said Tesco was ultimately responsible for the food it sold. "We will not take anything for granted after this incident. It has shown that, in spite of our stringent tests, checks and controls there remained a small possibility that something could go wrong and it did. We want to stop it ever happening again, so we are taking action to reduce that possibility still further. |
| "To underpin the strong measures already in place, we will now introduce a comprehensive system of DNA testing across our meat products. This will identify any deviation from our high standards." | "To underpin the strong measures already in place, we will now introduce a comprehensive system of DNA testing across our meat products. This will identify any deviation from our high standards." |