At the end of last week , when it looked as if it was only a British problem, the announcer on French breakfast radio cheerfully informed us that the issue was a minor one . ''It is due to the English veneration for horses. It could not happen here " .
By Monday morning the contamination has been traced to a French producer . Over the weekend all the local supermarkets have followed their British counterparts and pulled frozen beef items from the shelves. The same radio commentator now announces that it is a ' Catastrophe '. The government minister responsible for consumer affairs is interviewed. '' No cause for alarm. Horse meat is not poisonous. There will be an emergency meeting of the meat industry this morning to get to the bottom of things ". This is supposed to be reassuring.
It seems that horses have been bannned from pulling carts in Romania. As a result there has been a glut of horses being slaughtered. The price of horsemeat has collapsed. Someone has been buying cheap horsemeat in Romania, trucking it across Europe and substituting it for beef in France and Luxembourg. It then turns up in frozen beef products across the continent. We have fish for lunch.
Cute dog there Angus. Reminds me we are still waiting to hear the pitter patter of tiny paws running across your blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Gail.
PS This horsemeat scandal is really not helping my long running (and so far totally unsuccessful) campaign to persuade 'HGY' to simplify her life by buying pre-prepared meals once in a while......
We're going to stick with the cheese. Everyone in this house loves cheese.
ReplyDeleteXXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
SHE seems to remember horsemeat being the main ingredient in tinned dogfood in the US when SHE was little.
That's so worrisome and unfortunate about the beef--Knowing how you enjoy a good steak, it looks like it may be 'salmon steaks' for now, or something delicious from the bakery instead.
ReplyDeleteA terrible story, I hate thinking about the slaughter of the horses in Romania.
ReplyDeleteThank you for including a photo of a sweet dog in this post; a charming distraction.
That's why they kept it all secret, because they knew that consumers would be up in arms about horsemeat being sold as beef....a very big scandal indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe public is always the last to know. I always wonder if any of the employees at the processing plants are privy to the contents, and whether they were brave enough to blow the whistle on these frauds.
Eww! I'll just stick to chicken, thanks! I love how the news changed when the source was discovered! lol
ReplyDeletePoor old dad, terribly behind the times, we thought. Always saying IF you simply had to had ground meat, be sure you watched the selected cut being ground by the butcher. Maybe I should have listened long before now. Sorry dad.
ReplyDeleteConsumers found out about the adulterated ground meat this time because the provider got caught. Wonder what we've been eating that hasn't been
discovered.
I'll be afraid to eat beef for awhile, even most of the dog food that we feed our dogs is not safe for them also. More chicken.
ReplyDeleteFYI: Live streaming of PON judging at Westminster at 1:15 EST this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteSo that's where the horsemeat is coming from. Oh my goodness! Yes, prawns for lunch then vegetable soup for tea for me.
ReplyDeleteHorse meat aside, most people would be shocked if they discovered what is really in the food they eat. That's why I've been a vegetarian, and unfortunately sometimes a candytarian, for 17 years.
ReplyDeleteSad for the horses. :(
I'm basically vegetarian too, but I know I'm a full candytarian just like you.
DeleteGelatin in candy is made from hooves. I say we support our small farmers by knowing exactly where our meat comes from and how it was treated :
Deletehttp://www.basquefarmhouseinfrance.com/2013/02/10-principles-of-country-farming-and.html
Because if we do not support our small farmers we can kiss our bucolic meadows and countrysides goodbye. We must educate the masses. It is imperative.
I am almost 100%vegetarian, it disgusts me, how we are tricked and poisoned... All the industry, polictis, trade is corrupted...
ReplyDeleteA very angry Susanne, Daisy, Foxiie and Kiri Poor Horses - what happens to them everyday is a shame - from showjumping, racing, mistreatment - same to cows and all animals which undergo industrial production
Humanity???? I go with Peter Beard - we are a stupid mass...
I am vegetarian about 3 days out of 7, but if I put some thought into it, I could go 7/7! Will I? Maybe.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jo, who is waiting for those PON brothers too!
News here is a lot of the horse meat had bute in it when they did the DNA+ additives testing, which means race horses, not "just" cart horses. A sad, disgusting mess all round. Pretty sure the 'horse meat isn't poisonous' defense isn't going to fly in the myriad law suits that are bound to result from this fiasco.
ReplyDeleteWe've been sticking to sgallops and fruit de mare.
ReplyDelete