Horse burger anyone? Discusted!!

Its so hard to believe that this could happen, with all the rigorous testing in place. I know there is no health risk.... but horses are not supposed to enter the human food chain. So many people are going to be upset about this.
 
*Disgusted*

Not ideal if it's not marked on the ingredients, but horse is widely eaten on the continent. Apparently it tastes really nice.

*Ducks*
 
I am rather annoyed at this, purely for the reason that I like to know what I'm eating. If its a beef burger I expect cow! Also I personally wouldn't eat horse no matter how good it was.
 
luckyoldme said:
Its so hard to believe that this could happen, with all the rigorous testing in place. I know there is no health risk.... but horses are not supposed to enter the human food chain. So many people are going to be upset about this.
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There could be a health risk though, horses are given drugs that could be harmful. That is why they have passports to record that they are not to enter the human food chain, but who's to say that this meat wasn't destined for the pet food chain and is not full of everything from Bute to Ivermectin!!
I am ashamed to work for Tesco, they are scraping the barrel with all their own brand food, their ready meals are no longer edible so I'm not surprised that they are using suppliers that could allow this to happen.
 
I find people who eat meat but are disgusted by horse comsumption a bit hypocritical a life is a life regardless of its breed. I realise people ride horse but some also ride cows, have pet sheep etc.
 
I'm not disgusted by the thought of eating horse meat, indeed, I probably have plenty of times in France and Italy, unknowingly. What does concern me more is that horsemeat is not supposed to enter the human food chain in the UK, so it would be likely that it was destined for petfood with lower safety standards.
 
My understanding of beef is that it isn't just meat from cows. The word "Beef" is a generic term which relates to meat from any bovine, so beefburgers can legitimately contain cow, ox, buffalo and water buffalo anyway. This is also true of beefsteak, and steak - yes what you eat in a restaurant can just as easily be from a buffalo as from a cow (far cheaper and bred for export mainly in South America and Australia I believe)
I don't particularly like the idea of horse meat being in my burgers, but to be honest there are so many horses and ponies being bred indiscriminately and ending up going to the meatman, they've got to do something with them all, so its hardly surprising that it is possibly ending up in burgers.
 
aren't all the ingredients ment to be listed on the pack? thought that was a legal requirement. This is why I don't like eating ready meals or processed food... you can never be quite sure exactly whats in it
 
Personally we get all our meat from the local farm shop, their animals raised locally and supports the local farmers.

I would never eat horse any more than I would eat dog, for an animal to have bourne our industry on its back, provided transport, shed blood and given lives on the battlefield indefence of this country over centuries not to mention provided endless hours in partnership providing endless love companionship and sport, to end up on a bun? Never in my house.
 
So much for traceability, all the forms and inspections that farmers have to do!

There was an Irish person on the radio this morning. There are human standard horse abbattoirs in Ireland - but it isn't supposed to go into Tesco beefburgers! Or any sort of beefburgers. The first reaction is to say "someone is making money out of this" but I thought that the price of horsemeat is similar to that of beef. Anyone know?
 
lhotse said:
There could be a health risk though, horses are given drugs that could be harmful. That is why they have passports to record that they are not to enter the human food chain, but who's to say that this meat wasn't destined for the pet food chain and is not full of everything from Bute to Ivermectin!!
I am ashamed to work for Tesco, they are scraping the barrel with all their own brand food, their ready meals are no longer edible so I'm not surprised that they are using suppliers that could allow this to happen.
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There is a part of the passport that you can sign to "opt out" of the human food chain, or if the medications section is properly filled in (which it seldom is) this will automatically make the horse in question unavailable for human consumption. There is a withdrawal period for things like bute, after which the horse will be again suitable for human consumption, otherwise it will go for pet food.
 
According to Farming Today this morning, Radio Four, the meat for these burgers was imported from Europe. I NEVER buy minced beef or burgers from a supermarket, French or UK.

My beef always comes from a butcher.

As for drugs entering the food chain. French vets are reluctant to adiminister BUTE but never check the slaughter declaration in my passports and as the medication is not recorded either, it makes a nonsense of the whole process.

If I wish I can obtain BUTE from my local pharmacy without a prescription, provided I buy 100 sachets. Another English friend obtains Danilon in the UK using a prescription from a French vet who has never treated her horses.

Lastly, most of the horse meat on sale in French supermarkets comes from Mexico where there are no regulations with regard to drugs entering the food chain. I have tackled many of our local supermarket butchers on this subject but they really don't know what I am talking about.
 
What is strange is that we don't eat horsemeat in the UK. Originally there was a religious reason. The cult of Epona meant that a Celtic chieftan would bathe in a "pony soup" as part of his succession and the early Christians wanted to stop this as it was pagan.
So horsemeat must have become OK to eat again on the continent at some point. I think that the English have been too well fed to want to eat it (although I think there was horsemeant available during the 2 World Wars, although not popular).

I didn't know there were horse meat butchers in Ireland.
 
Having been brought up on a dairy farm we always reared a few lambs, a couple of pigs and some beef stock to slaughter, butcher and have for family and friends. As children we would fuss and bottle feed the lambs, giving them names. Get excited when the new piglets arrived and also gave them names (even if mine was always called Barbie!) I grew very fond of them over the time we had them but always new that they would soon be my dinner. If it was practice to do this with horses in our country then I dare say we would have done and I wouldn't have been bothered.

I find the concept of Tesco value burgers difficult to get my head around as it is as we have only ever had our own meat or locally produced. Although I realise this isn't always possible I would like to think that even a "value beef burger" was actually beef!
 
Orangehorse said:
What is strange is that we don't eat horsemeat in the UK. Originally there was a religious reason. The cult of Epona meant that a Celtic chieftan would bathe in a "pony soup" as part of his succession and the early Christians wanted to stop this as it was pagan.
So horsemeat must have become OK to eat again on the continent at some point. I think that the English have been too well fed to want to eat it (although I think there was horsemeant available during the 2 World Wars, although not popular).

I didn't know there were horse meat butchers in Ireland.
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You can also buy horse meat in the UK.
 
It's not as bad as the chicken meat case where non human standard and decomposing chicken was being washed in bleach and repackaged and sold through places like Iceland. However if a product is supposed to be made from beef then beef is the only meat it should contain unless otherwise stated. It will be interesting to see where the meat came from and yes, it'll be another case of some unscrupulous individuals pulling a fast one and raking in the profits. Let's hope it makes the retails a bit more vigilant about their food sources and standards.
 
My understanding of it is, the company that make the burgers for Tesco thought the meat they were getting was beef, so its the meat suppliers to the burger makers that are being dodgy.

However, it is worrying that these burger makers didn't check the quality of their meat that they are selling!
 
Rollin said:
According to Farming Today this morning, Radio Four, the meat for these burgers was imported from Europe.
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TrasaM said:
However if a product is supposed to be made from beef then beef is the only meat it should contain unless otherwise stated. It will be interesting to see where the meat came from and yes, it'll be another case of some unscrupulous individuals pulling a fast one and raking in the profits. Let's hope it makes the retails a bit more vigilant about their food sources and standards.
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This is what I find so frustrating. I want to buy British food products that I can trust, but I can't afford to buy all my meat from a butcher and I am not organised enough to have every meal planned in advance with locally sourced ingredients, so I have to grab a ready meal or processed food occasionally. This story of imported horsemeat being passed off as beef burgers makes me even less trusting of the big food producers and retailers, and I guess the only way to vote with my feet is to take more time to plan my food consumption to the n-th degree!
 
just glad i shop at asda..................











:D





ive no issue with horse meat being eaten - just as long as its killed and transported humanely!

but to not tell anyone whats in the package........eugh.


p.s horse meat tastes nice!

p.p.s i do have a horse and no i wouldnt eat her!!! :D
 
luckyoldme said:
Its so hard to believe that this could happen, with all the rigorous testing in place. I know there is no health risk.... but horses are not supposed to enter the human food chain. So many people are going to be upset about this.
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No health risk!!!!! There is a HUGE health risk! Who knows where the meat really originated from and what drugs were being administered before slaughter. One of the reasons I am now vegetarian.

http://www.americanhorsemeat.com/uploads/Ppt0000002.pdf
 
misterjay said:
IMO It's the husbandry, transport and slaughtering process's that are the problem, not what animal it came from. Although, I do believe that horses aren't meant to enter the human food chain due to bute, etc.
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Exactly! It is a sad fact that these animals are sure to have had a pretty awful time leading up to their demise :mad:

That combined with the fact that it is an unlisted ingredient!!! Heaven knows what goes into our food these days, it`s frightening. No heath risk, yeah right!

Cutting costs at any cost is VERY dangerous!!!

I have eaten horsemeat but it was from a known animal who had a nice life & was killed humanely. And very delicious it was too but this is not the issue here IMO
 
Orangehorse said:
Where can you buy horsemeat in the UK? Apart from beef burgers, that is!
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Restaurants, deli's........ but it won`t be british.

There is a demand for it without a doubt but until it is British reared, transported & killed humanely then I won`t be consuming any.

But if it was it wouldn`t end up in Value burgers that`s for sure!!
 
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