Food watchdog to widen tests as Nestlé drawn into meat scandal

A total of 514 products will now be tested for traces of horsemeat, including beef-based foods that are sold pre-packed or loose, such as cafe sandwiches.

Announcement of the expansion from the FSA came last night after a Yorkshire food firm confirmed it is carrying out tests on a burger product supplied to outlets operated by Whitbread in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

Paragon Quality Foods, based in Armthorpe near Doncaster, supplied burgers to Whitbread which last week confirmed some of the products it had sold had been found to contain horsemeat.

Whitbread operates pubs under the Beefeater Inn, Brewers Fayre brands as well as the Premier Inn Hotel chain.

Paragon Quality Foods employs about 100 people and supplies burgers, doner kebabs and marinated chicken to restaurants and fast food outlets.

A spokesman said: “Since the outbreak of the horsemeat scandal in the European supply chain, we have carried out extensive testing for equine in our burgers all of which were clear to date, with the exception of one product, which is still being investigated.

“Independently, a number of our customers in the UK and Europe have also tested our products and to date all results were clear. Paragon have never knowingly bought or handled equine meat products.

“This is a supply chain problem across Europe due to the adulteration of raw material by criminal elements. As a key beefburger manufacturer the integrity of our product is paramount.”

Food giant Nestlé yesterday joined the businesses linked to the scandal after it confirmed it was suspending the delivery of products using meat from a German supplier. However the company stressed this did not apply to products destined for the UK market. A spokesman said that tests on all of its processed beef products sold in the UK and Ireland, consisting of seven Jenny Craig products and two Gerber baby food items, had confirmed no presence of horse DNA.

Four beef products have also been withdrawn from catering outlets at the House of Commons that were supplied by Brakes.

A spokesman said it was a “precuationary measure” while tests, which have so far returned negative results for equine DNA, are completed.

The FSA’s further phase of testing is to follow the two already under way and will include products marketed or labelled as containing beef as a major ingredient. Products such as gelatine, beef dripping, stock cubes, steak, stewing steak and ready meals which contain beef that is not minced, are included. Testing is due to begin next week. The first phase saw 224 samples of minced beef products including burgers, minced beef, beef sausage or meat balls checked for horse and pork DNA, while the second, which started last Thursday involves 140 samples of beef-based ready meals including frozen, chilled or canned lasagne, chilli con carne, cottage pie, ravioli, cannelloni and spaghetti bolognese being checked for horse and pork DNA.

The sampling for the first two phases is being carried out by 28 local authorities while sampling for the third will be allocated to other local authorities across the UK.

Results from all three phases, including brand names with initial findings available, will be published from the end of the 
month.

As the number of companies linked to the horsemeat scandal grew the blame game over responsibility gathered pace with the National Beef Association yesterday attacking the “bullying culture” it said frontline retail buyers had used to pursue lower prices.

NBA national director Chris Mallon added: “The global food market is changing fast and supermarkets now need, for their own long term survival as well as the long term wellbeing of their customers, to persuade consumers they can no longer spend just 10 per cent of their disposable income on food and be prepared, before long, to spend 15 per cent instead.”