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WHAT COULD BE IN MY FOOD? | Greyhound Chromatography

WHAT COULD BE IN YOUR FOOD?

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As yet another food testing scandal hits the headlines Findus is now under scrutiny.  The general public are becoming more aware of what is in the food that they eat.  From fast food to everyday family meals, where there is Beef content there is concern that we are harming our health by digesting products that could be carcinogenic.  It's ok to eat horsemeat, the issue is should we be eating meat from horses that were not tested as being free from  Phenylbutazone, or 'bute'  an anti-inflammatory drug which is regularly given to horses to treat lameness, pain and fever.

BUY 'PHENYLBUTAZONE' HERE

It is the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in equine practice.  Bute is banned from entering the human food chain in the EU because it can cause cancer and other lethal effects.

Horses that have been treated with it should have the information recorded on their passport, but Labour claim the issuing of such documents is fragmented in the UK, where there are 75 approved issuing organisations and no national database to track the information.

The Food Standards Agency tests to see that horses in slaughterhouses are fit for consumption and carries out further checks on the meat later down the line.  The Food Standards agency carries out many tests on meat and foodstuffs before they are consumed, the general public may be aware of some tests that are carried out, Listeria tests for example

In 2012, it identified five horses with non-compliant results. None of the meat was placed on the UK market and where it had been exported, relevant food safety authorities were informed.

But public analyst Dr Duncan Campbell said such sampling had been in decline for ten years. He warned that there was also a danger that other anti-flammatory drugs that have not been tested for could be present in the horse meat.

'In addition, the FSA carry out subsequent testing for phenylbutazone and other veterinary medicines in meat from horses slaughtered in this country.

'Where positive results of phenylbutazone are found, the FSA investigates and takes follow-up action to trace the meat.'

Ms Creagh questioned whether that meant Mr Heath was aware of the issue. 'I'm astonished that you have not raised this and I think the public have a right to know,' she said.

Ms Creagh said it was a 'very serious development' and demanded action to ensure that 'illegal and carcinogenic horse meat stops entering the human food chain'.

Amy Cope, FSA communications manager, said: 'Horses which have been treated with phenylbutazone or "bute" are not allowed to enter the food chain.

'In 2012, the FSA identified five cases where horses returned non-compliant results. None of the meat had been placed for sale on the UK market. Where the meat had been exported to other countries, the relevant food safety authorities were informed.

'During the recent horse meat incident, the FSAI [Ireland] checked for the presence of phenylbutazone and the samples came back negative.'

But public analyst Dr Duncan Campbell told Mail Online that, although FSAI had tested for the presence of bute, there may be a risk that other anti-inflammatory drugs not tested for could be present.

'Until we know where it [the meat] came from, we can't be sure there is no risk,' said Dr Campbell.

'The number of Trading Standards Officers has been cut and the amount of sampling has been declining for over ten years.

'The UK FSA's own statistics show that in County Councils, the number of food samples taken for analysis has fallen by 43 per cent between 2008-9 and 2011-12.'

Timeline of the Horsemeat Scandal in 2013

January 15: News breaks that horse meat has been found in beef burgers being sold in the UK and Irish supermarkets.

The Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) reveals the contaminated products came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, as well as the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire.

The burgers had been on sale in the UK at Tesco and Iceland stores. Both companies begin removing all implicated products from their shelves.

January 16: Three more supermarkets - Asda, the Co-op and Sainsbury's - start removing frozen beefburger products from their stores as a 'precautionary measure'.

Tesco discovers that 29 per cent of the 'beef' content of one of its Everyday Value beefburgers was actually horse meat.

Burger King, which also uses supplier ABP/Silvercrest, said it has received assurances from the manufacturer that none of its products have been affected by horse meat contamination.

Government and the Food Standards Agency announces a UK wide survey into the authenticity of burgers and other processed meat products.

January 17: It emerges that Government scientists in Ireland first found horse DNA in late November but did not reveal their findings until January 11 as they wanted to carry out further tests.

Burger King continues to assure customers its products were not affected.

January 18: More than ten million burgers have now been removed from sale, including more than 100,000 made at the Yorkshire factory of Dalepak.

The firm at the centre of the horse meat scandal - Irish company ABP - announces a temporary closure at its Silvercrest processing plant in Co Monaghan after new tests confirmed the contamination was rife.

Hotel chain Premier Inn removes beef burgers supplied by the company from its restaurants.

January 21: Silvercrest processing plant in Ireland confirms that a protein powder - used as a filler to help bulk out the burgers - which was imported from the Netherlands caused the contamination.

January 23: Burger King announces it is switching its burger supplier and warns customers that some products might be in short supply.

January 24: Burger King admits it removed thousands of burgers produced by ABP/Silvercrest from its restaurants.

January 25: Tesco apologises after one its stores in Cowley, Oxfordshire, continued to sell a line of burgers that should have been withdrawn in the wake of the horse meat scandal.

January 27: Revealed that the horse meat found in beef burgers manufactured for British supermarkets was imported from a supplier in Poland.

January 30: FSA reveals the mixture of beef and horse offcuts found in contaminated burgers sold in supermarkets could have been used for a year.

Emerges that the contaminated meat was in the form of blocks of frozen product from a Polish supplier which had been used for a year.

January 31: Emerges that Asda and Co-op have also been selling burgers contaminated with horse meat.

Four out of 17 burgers tested by the Co-op showed up positive for equine DNA, while one was as much as 17.7per cent horse meat.

Similarly, four frozen burgers made for Asda were positive for trace levels of horse DNA.

February 1: Burger King admits to selling burgers contaminated with horse meat.

February 4: FSA under pressure to begin testing a wider range of beef products

February 6: Asda removes four own-label brands of frozen burgers from sale following the discovery of beef contaminated with horse meat at a manufacturer in Northern Ireland.

The decision followed revelations that a consignment of beef containing high levels of horse meat had been found at a cold store operated by Freeza Meats of Newry.

Flexi Foods, based in Hull, is also named as the key source of consignments of tonnes of beef that illegally included horse meat.

Large blocks of what were supposed to be beef off-cuts were imported by Flexi Foods from Poland and then sold on to food manufacturers in the UK and Ireland.

February 7: Revealed that packs of Findus frozen lasagne meals being sold around the UK contained up to 100 per cent horse meat.

The lasagne packs were manufactured by French company, Comigel, at a plant in Metz, which produces food for supermarkets in Britain and Europe.

Comigel makes a range of beef products for Tesco and Aldi. Both stores begin removing those products as a 'precautionary measure'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2275166/Findus-admits-frozen-lasagne-100-horsemeat-dont-know-long-shelves.html#ixzz2KIlPII6P

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