Burger King UK may be selling horsemeat whoppers

Burger King has admitted that some of its burgers sold in the U.K. and Ireland were, in fact, tainted with horsemeat.

This is just the latest chapter in an ongoing scandal in the U.K. and Ireland involving beef burger patties tainted with meat from horses and pigs. U.K. supermarket chain Tesco and other companies have also been affected. It's suspected that a meat distributor in Poland, which worked with all the companies in question, used meats other than beef as filler in cheap burgers.

Burger King had originally stressed that its patties are made with 100 percent beef, although it later dropped Silvercrest, the food processing plant that received meat from the Polish distributor.

The Guardian has a statement from Burger King:

"Our independent DNA test results on product taken from restaurants were negative for any equine DNA. However, four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA. Within the last 36 hours, we have established that Silvercrest used a small percentage of beef imported from a non-approved supplier in Poland. They promised to deliver 100% British and Irish beef patties and have not done so. This is a clear violation of our specifications, and we have terminated our relationship with them."

Officials have stressed that the horsemeat-tainted burgers do not pose a health risk to consumers.

(from Huffington Post)

"Tainted?" "Scandal?" I get that what was delivered was not what was ordered, but the article makes it seem like the burgers had rat poison mixed in.

I can understand a deliberate choice not to eat horse meat, but it's not like people haven't been doing it all over the world for thousands of years. If I ate a supposedly-100%-beef burger that had horse in it, I can't think why it would make any more sense to be upset than if it had had pork or lamb or chicken in it.

Seriously? You don't understand our cultural aversion to eating horse flesh? We don't even have a word for horse flesh, like beef or pork. What does that tell you?

Some cultures like to eat dogs, cats, and monkeys. This doesn't mean I wouldn't be upset if I found out I was served some.

It truly cost BK millions . . . they voluntarily pulled all beef patties from the shelves and tossed it, and for a few days only served a limited menu at their UK locations (until they could be restocked).

While I agree that in the vast scheme of things this is no big deal, I also think BK was admirably proactive in its response.

Seriously? You don't understand our cultural aversion to eating horse flesh? We don't even have a word for horse flesh, like beef or pork. What does that tell you?

I understand that it exists. I don't think it makes any sense. And I don't think a cultural aversion justifies using words like "tainted" that make it seem as though the producers had put the public health in danger.

Seriously? You don't understand our cultural aversion to eating horse flesh? We don't even have a word for horse flesh, like beef or pork. What does that tell you?

I understand that it exists. I don't think it makes any sense. And I don't think a cultural aversion justifies using words like "tainted" that make it seem as though the producers had put the public health in danger.

taint v. taint·ed, taint·ing, taints. --tr. 1. To affect with or as if with a disease. 2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil. 3. To corrupt morally. 4. To affect with a tinge of something reprehensible.

I'm going with number 4.

Seriously? You don't understand our cultural aversion to eating horse flesh? We don't even have a word for horse flesh, like beef or pork. What does that tell you?

Some cultures like to eat dogs, cats, and monkeys. This doesn't mean I wouldn't be upset if I found out I was served some.

Don't forget some people's religions forbid eating horse and pork.

Seriously? You don't understand our cultural aversion to eating horse flesh? We don't even have a word for horse flesh, like beef or pork. What does that tell you?

Some cultures like to eat dogs, cats, and monkeys. This doesn't mean I wouldn't be upset if I found out I was served some.

Don't forget some people's religions forbid eating horse and pork.

What religion forbids the eating of horsemeat? I know that the Hindu religion forbids the eating of beef and the Jewish religion forbids pork as well as anything else with a split hoof.

[Robin Garr]

... the Jewish religion forbids pork as well as anything else with a split hoof.

Careful, podnuh ... Kosher meat can only come from animals that chew the cud and have split hooves. Cows are in. Pigs and horses are out.

"the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA"

I guess a few horses got accidentally mixed into the herd as they rushed them into the slaughterhouse! Either that or they genetically engineered their cows to the point to where they have shared DNA patterns with horses!

"the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA"

I guess a few horses got accidentally mixed into the herd as they rushed them into the slaughterhouse! Either that or they genetically engineered their cows to the point to where they have shared DNA patterns with horses!

I was impressed that BK regularly checks the DNA of its beef! (NOT a cheap procedure)

Per Hillary Clinton, "What difference, at this point, does it make?” Oh, she is talking about dead Americans, not horse meat....sorry

Findus beef lasagne contained up to 100% horsemeat, FSA says

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21375594

Ms Brown said it was "highly likely" that criminal activity was to blame for horsemeat being found in some meals.

[snip]

The FSA said: "We have no evidence to suggest that this is a food safety risk. However, the FSA has ordered Findus to test the lasagne for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or 'bute'.

"Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain as [the drug] may pose a risk to human health.

that's your tainting issue right there.

This is fairly astounding. So far the German press has exactly one article reporting that Aldi, one of the nation's largest food retailers has been selling lasagne with 60-100% horsemeat and no one knows how long they've been doing it. Aldi spends a ton on advertising in the press though... maybe the newspapers are just scared?

The lasagne production company is just ten miles across the border in France. Nice trade.... buy old horses from Germany's avid equestrians and then send them back over the border mixed with red sauce and noodles.

******On edit: the production is actually done in Luxembourg. These guys supply hospitals, retirement homes, college cafetrias, restaurants..... the works. Talk about complete loss of faith in inspection regimes.

check out the complex network of parties involved in the supply chain on this... whoa.

Six French supermarket chains have withdrawn frozen beef meals made by Findus and Comigel after it emerged some beef-labelled foods sold in Europe and the UK contained horsemeat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21403202