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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Horsemeat scandal: EU ministers to hold crisis talks | Horsemeat scandal: EU ministers to hold crisis talks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| EU agriculture ministers are to discuss the horsemeat scandal that has reportedly affected up to 16 countries. | EU agriculture ministers are to discuss the horsemeat scandal that has reportedly affected up to 16 countries. |
| Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney will chair the Brussels talks, which will seek ways to restore consumer confidence in meat products. | Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney will chair the Brussels talks, which will seek ways to restore consumer confidence in meat products. |
| This comes after the discovery that meat sold in Europe labelled as beef contained horsemeat. | This comes after the discovery that meat sold in Europe labelled as beef contained horsemeat. |
| On Tuesday, a slaughterhouse and a meat firm were raided by police in the UK probing alleged horsemeat mislabelling. | On Tuesday, a slaughterhouse and a meat firm were raided by police in the UK probing alleged horsemeat mislabelling. |
| UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said it was unacceptable if British firms were defrauding the public. | UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said it was unacceptable if British firms were defrauding the public. |
| The scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry's supply chains across the 27-member EU bloc, with a number of supermarket chains withdrawing frozen beef meals. | The scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry's supply chains across the 27-member EU bloc, with a number of supermarket chains withdrawing frozen beef meals. |
| Meanwhile, Romania has denied claims that it was the source of the mislabelling of horsemeat. Bucharest says horsemeat that leaves the country has not been minced, and is labelled as horse. | Meanwhile, Romania has denied claims that it was the source of the mislabelling of horsemeat. Bucharest says horsemeat that leaves the country has not been minced, and is labelled as horse. |
| Tighter restrictions | Tighter restrictions |
| The ministers from the UK, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Sweden are expected to take part in the talks in Brussels, along with European Commission officials. | The ministers from the UK, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Sweden are expected to take part in the talks in Brussels, along with European Commission officials. |
| The meeting is an opportunity to exchange ideas on where the problem might have originated and how to stop it in the future, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports. | The meeting is an opportunity to exchange ideas on where the problem might have originated and how to stop it in the future, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports. |
| Tighter restrictions for the labelling of processed food are now in the pipeline, our correspondent adds. | Tighter restrictions for the labelling of processed food are now in the pipeline, our correspondent adds. |
| "We are looking at whether (such labelling) is possible... but nothing is fixed yet," said a spokesman for EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Tonio Borg. | "We are looking at whether (such labelling) is possible... but nothing is fixed yet," said a spokesman for EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Tonio Borg. |
| There are growing concerns that that a drug used to treat horses - and which is harmful to humans - could be in the food chain. | There are growing concerns that that a drug used to treat horses - and which is harmful to humans - could be in the food chain. |
| But EU officials say public health is not at stake, and the problem is instead one of mislabelling. | But EU officials say public health is not at stake, and the problem is instead one of mislabelling. |
| They say it is up to national regulators to take action. | They say it is up to national regulators to take action. |
CLICKABLE 8. Factories1. Comigel: Food processor3. Spanghero: Meat processor2. Tavola: Factory4. Subcontractor5. Trader6. Abattoirs7. Supermarkets French food producer makes order | |
| Comigel HQ in Metz, north-east France, asks its subsidiary, Tavola in Luxembourg, to make food products - including beef lasagne for Findus. | |
Factory orders meat | |
| The Tavola factory orders the meat from Spanghero in the south of France. | |
Subcontractor used | |
| Spanghero contacts a subcontractor in Cyprus to source the meat. | |
Subcontractor enlists trader | |
| The Cypriot subcontractor in turn contacts a trader in the Netherlands. | |
Trader orders from Romania | |
| The trader in the Netherlands places an order for meat with abattoirs in Romania. | |
Abattoirs send meat to France | |
| The meat from the abattoirs travels to Spanghero in France. However, Romania rejects claims that it was responsible for wrongly describing the horsemeat from its abattoirs as beef. Horsemeat is always labelled as such, they say. The Romanian authorities claim records show orders had been for horse carcass - easily distinguishable from beef. | |
Meat used to make products | |
| Spanghero sends the meat to the Comigel subsidiary’s factory in Luxembourg before the finished products are supplied to Findus and retailers across Europe, including the UK. The president of Comigel says the company was unaware the meat was coming from abroad. | |
Horse DNA found in Ireland | |
| Horse DNA is also found in burgers from two processing plants in Ireland - Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods. Later, batches of stored meat containing horse DNA are discovered at Rangeland Foods in Ireland and at Freeza Meats in Newry, Northern Ireland. Both plants say none of the meat entered the food chain. |