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  1. Business
16 January 2013updated 22 Oct 2020 3:55pm

Tesco clears shelves of horsemeat burgers

Investigations start.

By New Statesman

Tesco has cleared its shelves of beef burgers following the fallout over horsemeat contamination, and investigations are under way to work out how it happened.

Two months ago tests by Irish food safety officials found that some burgers contained horse DNA – in one sample the meat accounted for 29 per cent of the content.

Although those who carried out the tests said there was no risk to human health, there has been public outcry over the issue.

“For some religious groups, or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable”  FSAI chief executive Professor Allan Reilly told the BBC.

From the BBC report:

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FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said there was “a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products, due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants”.

But he added: “There is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production process.

“In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and, therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.”

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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