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| Horsemeat scandal: Government 'flat-footed' over crisis | Horsemeat scandal: Government 'flat-footed' over crisis |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government's response to the horsemeat scandal has been criticised as "flat-footed" by a group of MPs. | The government's response to the horsemeat scandal has been criticised as "flat-footed" by a group of MPs. |
| They have called for greater testing of products to reassure people there is not a threat to human health. | They have called for greater testing of products to reassure people there is not a threat to human health. |
| The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee also said that if criminals were illegally passing off horsemeat as beef they were unlikely to be applying adequate hygiene standards. | The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee also said that if criminals were illegally passing off horsemeat as beef they were unlikely to be applying adequate hygiene standards. |
| Ministers insist there is no evidence of a risk to health. | Ministers insist there is no evidence of a risk to health. |
| 'Broader spectrum' | 'Broader spectrum' |
| The committee said the public appeared to have been "cynically and systematically duped" for financial gain by parts of the food industry. | The committee said the public appeared to have been "cynically and systematically duped" for financial gain by parts of the food industry. |
| It said in a report: "It seems improbable that individuals prepared to pass horsemeat off as beef illegally are applying the high hygiene standards rightly required in the food production industry. | It said in a report: "It seems improbable that individuals prepared to pass horsemeat off as beef illegally are applying the high hygiene standards rightly required in the food production industry. |
| "We recommend that the government and FSA undertake a broader spectrum of testing for products found to have the highest levels of contamination... to provide assurances that there is no other non-bovine DNA or any other substances that could be harmful to human health present." | "We recommend that the government and FSA undertake a broader spectrum of testing for products found to have the highest levels of contamination... to provide assurances that there is no other non-bovine DNA or any other substances that could be harmful to human health present." |
| The MPs criticised the way the government and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had dealt with the crisis since horsemeat was discovered in some supermarket beef products last month. | The MPs criticised the way the government and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had dealt with the crisis since horsemeat was discovered in some supermarket beef products last month. |
| They said: "Whilst ministers are properly responsible for policy, the FSA's diminished role has led to a lack of clarity about where responsibility lies, and this has weakened the UK's ability to identify and respond to food standards concerns. | They said: "Whilst ministers are properly responsible for policy, the FSA's diminished role has led to a lack of clarity about where responsibility lies, and this has weakened the UK's ability to identify and respond to food standards concerns. |
| "Furthermore the current contamination crisis has caught the FSA and government flat-footed and unable to respond effectively within structures designed primarily to respond to threats to human health." | "Furthermore the current contamination crisis has caught the FSA and government flat-footed and unable to respond effectively within structures designed primarily to respond to threats to human health." |
| Committee chairman Anne McIntosh said the FSA has to become more "fit for purpose" and should be given statutory powers to force producers to carry out testing. | Committee chairman Anne McIntosh said the FSA has to become more "fit for purpose" and should be given statutory powers to force producers to carry out testing. |
| She told the Today programme: "The FSA - we were told by the farming minister David Heath - is the police force in this regard, of applying food standards. | She told the Today programme: "The FSA - we were told by the farming minister David Heath - is the police force in this regard, of applying food standards. |
| "It is surprising to learn that they can request testing by producers to be performed, but they don't currently have the powers to require testing to be performed. That would be one change that we would welcome." | "It is surprising to learn that they can request testing by producers to be performed, but they don't currently have the powers to require testing to be performed. That would be one change that we would welcome." |
| Miss McIntosh also suggested a Europe-wide change in the rules governing the use of mechanically separated meat (MSM), which from April 2012 had to be listed as a separate ingredient, seems to correlate with the start of "incorrectly labelled" food being imported into the UK. | Miss McIntosh also suggested a Europe-wide change in the rules governing the use of mechanically separated meat (MSM), which from April 2012 had to be listed as a separate ingredient, seems to correlate with the start of "incorrectly labelled" food being imported into the UK. |
| MSM is stripped from the carcass after the prime cuts are removed using a high-pressure blasting system. | MSM is stripped from the carcass after the prime cuts are removed using a high-pressure blasting system. |
| Last year, the committee called on the government to set out plans to prevent illegal meat imports. | Last year, the committee called on the government to set out plans to prevent illegal meat imports. |
| Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said the report was a reflection of government cuts at the FSA. | Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said the report was a reflection of government cuts at the FSA. |
| 'Unacceptable situation' | 'Unacceptable situation' |
| A Defra spokesman said: "We have been working urgently with food businesses, police and authorities across Europe to get to the bottom of this unacceptable situation. | A Defra spokesman said: "We have been working urgently with food businesses, police and authorities across Europe to get to the bottom of this unacceptable situation. |
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. | |
| "Once we have established the full facts we will take whatever action is necessary so that this unacceptable situation cannot happen again." | "Once we have established the full facts we will take whatever action is necessary so that this unacceptable situation cannot happen again." |
| Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, London, said the Food Standards Agency needed to be strengthened. | Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, London, said the Food Standards Agency needed to be strengthened. |
| He told the BBC's Newsnight: "It's not been doing its job. We need more inspectors, they've been slashed and cut. We can't have the industry policing itself, that's what's gone wrong. The big food companies didn't actually have the control they said they had." | He told the BBC's Newsnight: "It's not been doing its job. We need more inspectors, they've been slashed and cut. We can't have the industry policing itself, that's what's gone wrong. The big food companies didn't actually have the control they said they had." |
| European ministers have agreed plans for EU-wide random DNA testing of meat products for horsemeat as well as for the equine drug "bute". | European ministers have agreed plans for EU-wide random DNA testing of meat products for horsemeat as well as for the equine drug "bute". |
| The move was welcomed by UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who said it was "completely intolerable" that products marked as beef actually contained horsemeat. | The move was welcomed by UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who said it was "completely intolerable" that products marked as beef actually contained horsemeat. |
| The FSA will announce the results of tests for bute in horses slaughtered in the UK on Thursday morning. | The FSA will announce the results of tests for bute in horses slaughtered in the UK on Thursday morning. |