Industry ‘determined to restore confidence’ after horse scandal

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said he hoped consumers took some reassurance from the fact 99 per cent of products already tested were clear of horse DNA.

He spoke after meeting representatives from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons at Westminster.

Mr Paterson called for a Europe-wide overhaul of meat testing, saying the system relies too heavily on trusting the paperwork with meat shipments.

He has also asked the Food Standards Agency to investigate claims that Ministers were warned two years ago that horsemeat was illegally entering the human food chain.

He said: “There was absolute determination in the industry to restore confidence in their products and I am pleased to say we look forward to meeting on a regular basis to absolutely make it clear that when consumers buy a product, they get what they bought.”

Tests on 2,501 beef products last week revealed 29 positive results, relating to Aldi’s special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland’s catering burger products and Tesco value frozen burgers and value spaghetti bolognese.

Malcolm Walker, the chief executive of frozen food chain Iceland, claimed schools, hospitals and prisons should be “blamed” for the scandal for allegedly “driving down” food quality to cut costs.

But, responding to him in a letter yesterday, York Council leader James Alexander said: “The failure of horsemeat contaminating food products is due to poor regulation by the Food Standards Authority and a lack of checks on suppliers by supermarkets and caterers. This is not the fault of local councils.

“I should also add my mother is a dinner lady in a school and I find your comments insulting to staff who work so hard.”