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| Waitrose did not report possible meatball contamination for two weeks | Waitrose did not report possible meatball contamination for two weeks |
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| Waitrose knew there was a potential problem with pork contamination of frozen meatballs two weeks ago but did not inform the Food Standards Agency (FSA) or consumers until Tuesday, the Guardian can reveal. | Waitrose knew there was a potential problem with pork contamination of frozen meatballs two weeks ago but did not inform the Food Standards Agency (FSA) or consumers until Tuesday, the Guardian can reveal. |
| The upmarket supermarket, which quietly withdrew batches of the product on 30 January and 4 February, said it had been trying to assess the scale of the problem and had no need to tell the FSA because there was no health risk. | The upmarket supermarket, which quietly withdrew batches of the product on 30 January and 4 February, said it had been trying to assess the scale of the problem and had no need to tell the FSA because there was no health risk. |
| Waitrose said there had been "contradictory" results in initial tests on the product in question, frozen Essential Waitrose 16 British Beef Meatballs (480g), so it had not informed the public. It wanted to investigate further before deciding whether customer information notices in all branches "would be appropriate". It added: "Our procedure was also to make an assessment of the number of packs that could possibly still be in customers' freezers." | Waitrose said there had been "contradictory" results in initial tests on the product in question, frozen Essential Waitrose 16 British Beef Meatballs (480g), so it had not informed the public. It wanted to investigate further before deciding whether customer information notices in all branches "would be appropriate". It added: "Our procedure was also to make an assessment of the number of packs that could possibly still be in customers' freezers." |
| Waitrose said it had done its own DNA tests on the product, sourced from a plant in Glasgow run by the company ABP Freshlink, following the first horsemeat scare centering on frozen burgers in the middle of January. The results on samples from a batch that had been made last June came in on 29 January, some showing between 5% and 30% pork DNA. | Waitrose said it had done its own DNA tests on the product, sourced from a plant in Glasgow run by the company ABP Freshlink, following the first horsemeat scare centering on frozen burgers in the middle of January. The results on samples from a batch that had been made last June came in on 29 January, some showing between 5% and 30% pork DNA. |
| On 30 January, Waitrose withdrew product relating to the June batch and commissioned more tests, this time using the so-called Elisa method, which was used to identify proteins specific to pork. | On 30 January, Waitrose withdrew product relating to the June batch and commissioned more tests, this time using the so-called Elisa method, which was used to identify proteins specific to pork. |
| Results from samples from meatballs made in both June and August, delivered on 4 February, "indicated above 1% pork" although tests by the factory using the same technique had showed negative for pork contamination. This time, all batches of the affected product were withdrawn from stores. | Results from samples from meatballs made in both June and August, delivered on 4 February, "indicated above 1% pork" although tests by the factory using the same technique had showed negative for pork contamination. This time, all batches of the affected product were withdrawn from stores. |
| In an open letter to customers on Wednesday, Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: "We have now done tests on 40 of our meat products, no horsemeat was found in any of these tests. | In an open letter to customers on Wednesday, Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: "We have now done tests on 40 of our meat products, no horsemeat was found in any of these tests. |
| "We did, however, discover that in just two batches of our essential Waitrose frozen British beef meatballs (480g), some of the meatballs may contain some pork. In fact, one of the tests carried out showed that the meat in the meatballs was, as it should be, 100% beef. | "We did, however, discover that in just two batches of our essential Waitrose frozen British beef meatballs (480g), some of the meatballs may contain some pork. In fact, one of the tests carried out showed that the meat in the meatballs was, as it should be, 100% beef. |
| "But because another test indicated there may be some pork, I felt it important for you to be aware." | "But because another test indicated there may be some pork, I felt it important for you to be aware." |
| ABP, two of whose other plants – Silvercrest in Co Monaghan, and Dalepak in north Yorkshire – have been implicated in the ongoing meat contamination scandal, said: "Freshlink has carried out over 450 DNA tests during the last two-and-a-half years. All our test results have been confirmed as negative for non-declared species. Freshlink will share all results directly with the FSA as part of their investigations." | ABP, two of whose other plants – Silvercrest in Co Monaghan, and Dalepak in north Yorkshire – have been implicated in the ongoing meat contamination scandal, said: "Freshlink has carried out over 450 DNA tests during the last two-and-a-half years. All our test results have been confirmed as negative for non-declared species. Freshlink will share all results directly with the FSA as part of their investigations." |
| Waitrose said it had taken no meatballs from Freshlink's Glasgow plant, which is due to close at the end of next month, since last October. It is concentrating frozen meat products at Dovecote Park, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, which has been its sole supplier of fresh beef since 1997. It added: "All the beef processed by Dovecote Park is sourced from a known and trusted group of British farmers – none of the beef is bought on the open market." | |
| • This article was amended on 14 February 2013. The original said beef supplier Dovecote Park was "near Pontefract, north Yorkshire". Dovecote Park is on the North Yorkshire-West Yorkshire border, but Pontefract itself is in West Yorkshire. |