13/02/2013

UK Horsemeat Slaughterhouses Raided

As part of its ongoing investigation into the mislabelling of meat products, the FSA and police yesterday entered two meat premises, one in West Yorkshire and the other in West Wales.

The plant in West Yorkshire is Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and we believe it supplied horse carcasses to Farmbox Meats Ltd, Llandre, Aberystwyth.

The Agency and the police are looking into the circumstances through which meat products, purporting to be beef for kebabs and burgers, were sold when they were in fact horse.

The FSA has suspended operations at both these plants. Both West Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys police have entered the premises with the FSA. The FSA has detained all meat found and seized paperwork, including customer lists from the two companies.

Andrew Rhodes, FSA Director of Operations, said: "I ordered an audit of all horse producing abattoirs in the UK after this issue first arose last month and I was shocked to uncover what appears to be a blatant misleading of consumers. I have suspended both plants immediately while our investigations continue."

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: "This is absolutely shocking. It’s totally unacceptable if any business in the UK is defrauding the public by passing off horsemeat as beef. I expect the full force of the law to be brought down on anyone involved in this kind of activity."

Alun Davies, Welsh Government Minister for Agriculture, said: "Integrity and trust are essential in the food chain. I would be appalled if these allegations are proven. The Welsh Government is working closely with Defra and the FSA to ensure this matter is dealt with swiftly and decisively."

(GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

19 January 2012
Direct Line & Churchill Fined £2M For 'Tampering'
High profile insurers, Direct Line and Churchill, have both been fined a total of £2.17 million after found to have been tampering with their complaints files. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said it was imposing the fine for failure by the companies to conduct their businesses with "due skill, care and diligence".
17 May 2013
IPCC Ask North Yorkshire Police For Savile Review
North Yorkshire Police has been asked to review “all relevant material” relating to contact its officers had with Jimmy Savile. According to the BBC, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is acting "in light of information received" and said it wanted to know whether there were "conduct matters that should be referred to us".
04 February 2013
FSA Confirm Traces Of Pork Found In Halal Meat
The Food Standards Agency has been informed that a number of meat pies and pasties supplied to prisons in England and Wales were labelled and served as Halal but contained traces of pork DNA. The local authority is investigating how this contamination came about and whether these products have been distributed further across the UK.
06 April 2005
BNP leader charged with racial hatred offences
Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party (BNP), has been charged with four racial hatred offences, police have confirmed.
16 June 2015
Search Continues For Missing Family Of 12
West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that they are searching for a family of 12, reported missing on Thursday 11 June. Police said their investigation is being carried out both nationally and internationally in an effort to trace the Bradford family of 3 adults and 9 children.