Horsemeat

Bags

Processed meat has always been 'chancy' - you just don't know what's in it. To be sure of what you are getting the only thing to do is buy fresh meat from a reputable butcher (if there are any left in your local area that haven't been put out of business by supermarkets selling 'processed' meat dishes!!). Then you know what you are getting (mostly). Horsemeat is, as most people know eaten pretty widely in Europe. The issue is that it has been knowingly labelled as beef which is of course, not acceptable. I shall eat more vegetarian food with only one or two [fresh] meat dishes a week.

There's nothing wrong with buying fresh meat from a supermarket if you don't have a local butcher. Make sure you read the label so you know it is British and where it has been produced.

I am a lot more worried about contamination from drugs, eg antibiotics, Bute, possibly steroids? Who knows, if not properly sourced and regulated. And what is in tinned meat and products containing 'beef'? If horsemeat was being sold as 'beef' what else is going on?

The French have been eating horse meat for years; it's usually the first meat that you give to young children because it is tender and a little sweet. I don't think it has done us any harm - unless it is proven that it has Bute in it. However, I worry that (a) so many people are using ready meals instead of cooking proper food and (b) that the ingredients listed are so far from the truth. Hopefully all this will take us back to buying our meat at the butchers and cooking again! Cheaper in the long run too!

A new ready made meal in a supermarket using pasta and meatballs is called
'Macaponi'.

It was only a matter of time and to-day my concern's have been verified Lancashire County Council have confirmed horse DNA found in Cottage Pie's being served at schools across the area,have the powers that be tested what is being served in our hospitals and nursing homes at the kitchens who have their meals bought in from outside Company's.?

For me to it is a matter of food description - it would seem that supermarkets have pushed and pushed to get prices down thus forcing untrustworthy meat suppliers to get the cheapest available - in this case horse meat. It is openly sold and eaten on the continent - the choice is up to the consumer there. I am just appalled at the deceit - especially when currently there is so much pressure being brought to bear to improve food labelling. For me the issue is that the product is being sold as BEEF when in fact it is HORSE. a LIE.

I swear that I heard someone on the radio saying that the Food Standards Agency needs to be 'beefed up'.