UK meat products free from horse meat: FSA report

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported that no horse meat DNA at or above the 1% reporting threshold has been found in the latest round of industry and European Union (EU) meat testing.

Since 2013, the FSA has been working with the EU and industry in a wide programme of testing to detect horse meat.

Specifically, these tests have been carried out to check that beef products on sale or supplied into the UK food-chain are accurately labelled and contain no horse meat.

The initiative was launched after last year’s scandal in which horse meat was discovered in a range of products for sale across Europe.

The fourth quarterly report published by the FSA comprised 3,395 new results for beef products, and 2,466 results for other (non-beef) meat products.

Since 15 February 2013, 50,876 results for horse meat/DNA in meat products have been submitted by industry to the FSA, of which 47 were found to be positive samples.

Apart from industry testing, the UK has also participated in a second round of EU-wide testing for undeclared horse meat in processed beef products.

For this latest round of testing, 24 local authorities took 150 samples, none of which was found to contain traces of horse meat.

A variety of processed beef products was tested, including ready meals, canned beef products, beef sausages, beef burgers, minced beef and beef meat balls.

Trace One SVP Nick Martin commented: "Less than two years after the horsemeat crisis, the fact that no horsemeat has been detected in products is a very welcome development for everyone involved with the UK food industry, from retailers to manufacturers to consumers.

"By maintaining this level of awareness, the industry can ensure that the horsemeat crisis was a one-off rather than a sign of things to come."