Tesco withdraws meatloaf in State

Tesco has withdrawn a frozen meatloaf product in the Republic and the UK after tests detected the presence of horse meat.

The supermarket chain said last night that the frozen meatloaf made in Northern Ireland contained between 2 and 5 per cent horse meat.

The 600g packs of Tesco Simply Roast Meatloaf were made between October last year and January at Eu rostock in Craigavon, Co Armagh. A Tesco Ireland spokesman said the product was on sale in small quantities in the Republic.

Tesco technical director Tim Smith said tests on 15 other product lines from the same manufacturing site were clear of horse meat.

“Our investigation to thoroughly understand the source of the contamination has started and we will complete our investigation before deciding whether to continue using the supplier,” he said in a statement.

“As part of our new DNA testing programme we have now tested more than 500 products identified as being most at risk of containing horse meat.

“This is the fourth Tesco-branded product to have tested positive. We are very sorry that we have had a further product which has failed to meet the high standards we and our customers expect.”

Food fraud
Meanwhile, Europe an commissioner for health and consumer protection Tonio Borg told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that people engaged in food fraud would only be deterred by severe financial penalties.

Mr Borg said the European Commission was looking at further strengthening controls and would like to see random unannounced inspections.

He said penalties should reflect the economic gain made by those who violated EU legislation. “Only the prospect of losing more than what the illicit activities could bring can serve as an effective deterrent.”