British authorities revealed the grim conclusion on Thursday that horsemeat made up more than 60 percent of the foodstuffs in certain lasagna products that underwent recent testing.
If this may not seem too alarming to food buyers not familiar with the British horse-meat-infused Findus lasagna brand, they should consider the even more gruesome fact that this incident was only the most current in a "growing scandal" anent the use of horsemeat in Europe's food supply.
Despite the (ostensibly apocryphal) assurance that the "beef" lasagna it puts out is made from "3 layers of fresh pasta, beef Bolognese, béchamel sauce and cheddar cheese" - noticeably eliding mention of the 60-plus percent of horsemeat - frozen food company Findus is taking desperate measures through widespread recall of said product, as of this week.
"We understand this it is a very sensitive subject for consumers and we would like to reassure you we have reacted immediately," said Findus representation, promising UK consumers it has "fully resolved" what it's tendentiously referring to as a "supply-chain issue."
The so-called "beef" lasagna products of Findus were investigated after French supplier Comigel grew concerned with the validity of the food's "conform[ing] to specification." The UK Food Standards Agency looked into the lasagna as part of what has become an "ongoing investigation into mislabeled meat."
Within the last two weeks, three other companies in Ireland and the UK took products off the shelves for "mislabeling" their "beef" burgers (which in fact all contained horse DNA).
The UK Food Standards Agency reported that whereas eating horsemeat is not necessarily a health risk, it is ordering new tests to see if the lasagna and similar equine products contain the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, which could result in health risks for humans.
"We are demanding that food businesses conduct authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagna, and provide the results to the FSA," said UK Food Standards Agency Chief Executive Catherine Brown in a recent statement on the ongoing investigations.
Brown and the FSA hopes such further testing will demand that companies "demonstrate that the food it sells and serves is what it says it is on the label."
Follow @profklickberg
