The Horsemeat Scandal of 2013: What you need to know

It has been five years since the world was rocked by one of the worst food fraud scandals in recent times, arguably the biggest in the 21st century: The Horsemeat Scandal, also called Horsegate by other media outlets. In January 2013, Irish food inspectors announced they found traces of horsemeat in beef burger products from the UK and the Irish Republic, and that these products were being sold in large supermarket chains like Tesco and Aldi.

The scandal resulted in the recall of many beef products around Europe and a serious look at the food safety regulations in the region. Let’s have a look back on the issue and what’s changed about food safety ever since.

Traces of horsemeat

The scandal began in January 2013, when Irish food inspectors revealed they found traces of undeclared DNA from cheap burger and ready-made beef meal products being sold in supermarkets around the Irish Republic and UK. The tests, done in November the previous year, revealed mostly pig DNA in packed meal products supposedly containing beef. Horsemeat DNA, meanwhile, was found in beef burger products — one product from Tesco, for instance, was revealed to have 29% horsemeat in its makeup.

The products tested were recalled and an investigation was launched to find out where the products came from.

Food fraud, not food safety issue

What started with Irish food authorities led to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) running tests on different products — and the rest of Europe followed. The investigation revealed a disturbing truth: many other beef products sold in the European markets contained undeclared meat, horsemeat in particular. Brands like Nestlé and Findus recalled some of their products after the scandal broke.

The European Union (EU) launched a three-month random testing for processed meats, with then-27 EU member states participating. A total of 4,144 meat products labeled as beef were sampled and tested, and over 4% tested positive for horse DNA.

While additives are allowed by food authorities — beef burger products can legally contain as little as 47% beef — producers are required to identify the additives on the label. The consumption of pig and horsemeat also does not harm humans. Authorities pointed out that this is more an issue of Europe-wide food fraud rather than food safety.

Where did the horsemeat come from?

The Irish investigation revealed three sources of horsemeat in the products tested: Silvercrest Foods in Ireland, Dalepak in Yorkshire and Liffey Meats in Ireland. In the UK, meanwhile, several slaughterhouses and meat producers were investigated and raided as a result of the scandal. Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and Farmbox Meats Ltd, near Aberystwyth were raided, and three other firms in London and Hull followed.

In-depth investigations into the supply chain were triggered by the discovery that French manufacturer Comigel was the source of “beef” in frozen lasagne and spaghetti bolognese sold in Tesco, Aldi and Findus. The “beef” was revealed to be up to 100% horsemeat. The rest of Europe got involved because Comigel was producing cheap meals and supplying for 16 different countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands, where their products were recalled following the revelation.

In the UK, the ABP group, the leading processor of cattle in Europe, was held liable for their distribution of the fraudulent beef products. Their meat is said to be sourced from five unnamed slaughterhouses located in Poland.

What’s changed since?

Europe has become more vigilant when it comes to monitoring food sources since Horsegate. In the UK, the FSA introduced the National Food Crime Unit as recommended by the Elliot Review. The unit works with local police units, Europol and the Food Fraud Network to protect consumers from fraudulent activities involving food.

The Food Fraud Network was set up as a direct response to the Horse Meat Scandal. The network consists of 28 national contact points in EU countries; Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; and the European Commission, who work together to address possible cross-border food fraud cases.

What remains to be done is to establish a way to make the complicated food supply chain more transparent across all touch points. As it is, food supply chains are vulnerable to fraudulent activities, partly because tracking systems vary and in countries like the UK, different regulatory bodies are responsible for regulating products and processes in different parts of the supply chain. The work to create a standardized, secure system will take time, but new technology such as blockchain technology is being used to build a reliable and transparent food supply chain tracking system. To know more about how we’re helping fight counterfeit medicines, visit SparXchain.io today.