Killing Horses for Humans to Eat!

[thaiturkey]

Horse meat is regularly eaten on mainland Europe and in France there are butchers who deal exclusively in horse meat. It is abhorant to some of us but others accept it as an reasonable alternative to beef. We have had a big 'hoo ha' this week in UK because both horse and pig DNA was discovered in beefburgers. They were removed from the supermarket shelves and an inquiry set up to find who was responsible. Of course this begs the question, 'Are all manufactured meat products analised for their DNA content, or did someone in the industry tip off the Food Standards Agency?'

The horse meat issue in the UK is now a scandal throughout Europe and beyond, as I'm sure you know. For those who don't know, horse meat has found bits way into pre-prepared frozen foods labelled as containing other meat such as beef.

If the law makers want to pass proper legislation that makes horse meat safe for human consumption and there are checks as thorough as those for other meat products, then I see no problem. You can eat it or leave it. The problem in Europe is that labels didn't show that horse meat was included. Customers may have rejected if they had known. More importantly, uncontrolled slaughter and sale of horse meat may lead to health problems. No-one knows with the illegal trade in Europe whether the meat was contaminated with horse medication or something else.

 

[drumstick diva]

It's hard enough shopping for ground beef, that isn't "mystery meat", or "pink slime," without having to worry if it contains horsemeat.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
Horse meat is legal in the UK. As the story has been told here is that some products have traces of horse DNA that could have come from processing the products on the same equipment that was used the processing of horse meat.
Where is there uncontrolled slaughter and sale of horse meat ?

In the U.S. many products have to be labeled that peanuts are processed in the same place. That doesn't mean that there's peanuts in the product, it does mean there could be traces of peanuts.

 

[thaiturkey]

Horse meat is legal in the UK. As the story has been told here is that some products have traces of horse DNA that could have come from processing the products on the same equipment that was used the processing of horse meat.
Where is there uncontrolled slaughter and sale of horse meat ?

In the U.S. many products have to be labeled that peanuts are processed in the same place. That doesn't mean that there's peanuts in the product, it does mean there could be traces of peanuts.

Horse meat is legal in the UK so far as I know but I've never heard of anyone eating or honestly selling it.

If abattoirs work to the required standards, ther should be no chance of cross contamination. Up to almost 100% horse meat has been found in some packages labelled 'beef' and 'pork'. That's no accident.

The point about the problem in Europe, not just the UK, is that horse meat was slipped into processed foods and the labels didn't mention the fact. That means that, somewhere between abattoirs and the processing factories, some organisations have fraudulently been introducing meat from an unknown and unregulated source. That's fraud and there may also be a heath risk. Every business in the chain is guilty of either fraud or failure to audit sources back along the chain. That's why packaging hasn't been appropriately labelled.

Romania is suspected of being one source of horses. I read today that the government there has banned horse drawn carts from public roads. Probably thousands of old and possibly sick animals have been slaughtered and slipped into the food chain.

The issue is that, if a product contains horse meat it should be done openly with meat checked for contamination and packaging appropriately labelled. In the case of the US, legalisation of horse meat for food will provide for inspection and control. Given that European horse meat has already reached other countries, legislation would help you folk there to be confident that no horse meat contaminated with, for example, meat containing antibiotics harmful to humans, reaches your stores unlabelled.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote: Doesn't horse meat sell for more then beef or pork ? Why would someone put a higher priced product in ? Couldn't be a cost saving thing.

I have seen where some politicians have said there was a high amount of horse meat in the products but the people that have done the testing have all said there was trace amounts of horse DNA. But I'm sure the politicians would never stretch the truth. I see a lot of this as Government saying they need to get bigger to take better care of you. Because you cant take care of yourselves.

 

[cassie]

Really? Nothing in a supplement could be harmful? I mean no offense but do you think all supplements are benign?
Oh, I understand, the FDA says it is OK so it can't possibly be harmful.
The same regulators that will get a job from the food supplement companies when they leave public service.

The amount of supplement you would get from eating the flesh of an animal who has received it is miniscule. But if you want an excuse to get all in a tizzy, that is as good a reason as any.

 

[thaiturkey]

Doesn't horse meat sell for more then beef or pork ? Why would someone put a higher priced product in ? Couldn't be a cost saving thing.

I have seen where some politicians have said there was a high amount of horse meat in the products but the people that have done the testing have all said there was trace amounts of horse DNA. But I'm sure the politicians would never stretch the truth. I see a lot of this as Government saying they need to get bigger to take better care of you. Because you cant take care of yourselves.

I have no idea what the rice of horse meat is in Europe but I expect that old nags and retired race horses are cheap.

Some tests refer to traces and other to nearly 100%.

The European governments have no choice but to get involved in this. It seems to be a major scam that businesses probably can't investigate and deal with on their own. After all, those businesses might be complicit.

There has been a suggestion that the covert introduction has resulted from governments relaxing controls on quality checks along the chain. That's the opposite of what you suggest. And, no, in cases such as this where food is mis--labelled, we can't take care of ourselves.

 

[Vamvakas]

Horse meat must be so gamey so no thanks... In France it's very popular to eat horse and I like French people, but horse seems gross.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
Yea the millions of pounds of horse meat consumed all over Europe are OK but the trae amounts will probably kill some people. LOL

 

[cupman]

I think it's all psychological. It's not a social norm in the United States to eat horse meat so people believe that it would be gross or inhumane. It's just another animal with meat. I've seen pictures of horse meat and it actually looks pretty good. That being said I don't know anywhere you could buy it and it probably won't be easy to find until attitudes change.