British horse meat scandal expands
Swedish frozen-food company Findus withdrew all its beef lasagna
ready meals from supermarkets after tests revealed they contained up to
100% horsemeat. But the investigation took an EU-wide dimension as
British investigators found evidence of "gross negligence or possibly
criminality" involving several countries. "This is a conspiracy against the public," said British farm minister Owen Paterson before convening the weekend meeting. "I've got an increasing feeling that it is actually a case of an international criminal conspiracy." French officials tracing the contamination of the Findus beef lasagne said a Luxembourg factory had been supplied by the French firm Poujol, which had bought the meat frozen from a Cypriot trader, who in turn had subcontracted the order to a Dutch trader supplied by a Romanian abattoir. However, Comigel, a frozen foods producer based in eastern France, told a newspaper it had bought the meat from another French company, supplied from a Romanian abattoir. Lasagna photo via Shutterstock. Read more at EurActiv.com.
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