Northallerton meat processing plant probe after horsemeat found in supermarket beefburgers

8:21pm Tuesday 15th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Nigel Burton

The burgers were on sale at Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and Dunnes stores The burgers were on sale at Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and Dunnes stores

A MEAT processing plant in North Yorkshire is at the centre of a food safety probe after beefburgers supplied to leading supermarkets were found to contain horsemeat.

Products from the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Northallerton and two other facilities in Ireland were investigated by a food safety watchdog. The burgers were on sale at Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland and Dunnes Stores, but it is not known which plant supplied the contaminated meat.

Last night, after the results of the study, by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) were published, Tesco withdrew the products from sale, calling the incidents “extremely serious”.

The investigation into the authenticity of a number of beefburger, beef meal and salami products on sale in Ireland, found a number tested positive for horse DNA, something it said was “not in our culture to eat”. In addition, some products were also found to contain pig DNA.

Products from the Dalepak plant and from two plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, were tested and horse DNA was found.

tesco burgers

Of 27 products analysed, ten were found to contain horse DNA and 23 pig DNA.

Although most samples contained only low amounts of contamination, in one Tesco Everyday Value product, horsemeat accounted for about 29 per cent of the meat content relative to beef.

The FSAI said there was no risk to health, but its chief executive, Professor Alan Reilly, said: “While there is a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants, there is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production process.

“In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and, therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.”

While he did not single out any one particular supplier, Tesco spokesman Tim Smith said: “The safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco. We will not tolerate any compromise in the quality of the food we sell.

“The presence of illegal meat in our products is extremely serious. Our customers have the right to expect that food they buy is produced to the highest standards.

“The relevant authorities have said that these findings pose no risk to public health.

"We understand that many of our customers will be concerned by this news, and we apologise sincerely for any distress.”

No one was available for comment at Dalepak’s plant in Leeming Bar.

People phoning the firm who are put on hold hear a recorded message about its “delicious premium, standard and economy burgers... each one produced with care and for quality assurance”.

Comments(45)

Bemused or bewildered says...
9:37pm Tue 15 Jan 13

I'm off to Tesco.... I could eat a horse

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bishop1 says...
9:51pm Tue 15 Jan 13

might have been a bit worried if they found traces of dog or cat , lol

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outragedofmiltonkeynes says...
9:56pm Tue 15 Jan 13

Yeah but which bits of the cow actually made it into the burgers? Arses and eyebrows ill wager so the presence of a bit of horse is the least thing to worry about.

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mattwardman says...
3:30am Wed 16 Jan 13

Dobbin for dinner.

Yum.

Please, Tesco, will you introduce REAL horseburgers.

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Voice-of-reality says...
9:05am Wed 16 Jan 13

Provided that is is properly cooked - and not served pink - the likelihood of food poisoning from horse meat is very low. When cooked as a fillet a little rosemary lightens the taste beautifully - though sage also works well. You really ought to try it Doonhamer.

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Ally F says...
9:15am Wed 16 Jan 13

What do you expect paying a quid for 8 burgers? Do you REALLY think they are finest Aberdeen Angus? The remarkable aspect of this story is that they deteted some meat in the product at all, be it horse, giraffe, kangaroo, dog, cat, etc.

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greenfinger says...
9:26am Wed 16 Jan 13

i had some tesco burgers before i went for a 4 mile run last night. i did it in six minutes and jumped 19 fences.

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greenfinger says...
9:29am Wed 16 Jan 13

i went back for some more........ and they're off!

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borosteve says...
10:41am Wed 16 Jan 13

I suppose it's horses for first courses! I had a Lidl burger for my tea last night and this morning I awoke feeling a little horse....neigh neigh neigh Mr. Wilks!

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Butafly says...
10:51am Wed 16 Jan 13

makes sense to why the iceland burgers a few wks ago made us feel abit yuk for 24hrs,although cooked properly.
i agree with the 8burgers for £1 comment, suppose you get what you pay for yeh! or neigh?

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greenfinger says...
11:06am Wed 16 Jan 13

they didn't last furlong......

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behonest says...
11:19am Wed 16 Jan 13

Now we know what happened to Shergar.

doonhamer - do you really hope people will suffer from food poisoning? Are you a dour, miserable Scot by any chance?

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shirt of blue says...
12:05pm Wed 16 Jan 13

borosteve wrote:
I suppose it's horses for first courses! I had a Lidl burger for my tea last night and this morning I awoke feeling a little horse....neigh neigh neigh Mr. Wilks!
Mr Wilks - a blast from the past - lol

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Ally F says...
1:33pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Not a very nutritional product - very high in fat and shergar.

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battboy77 says...
1:35pm Wed 16 Jan 13

doonhamer wrote:
Above posts think its a joke, lets hope someone near or dear to them suffers from food poisoning, then we can all have a laugh with them. As for the 3.30am post, what Ward are you in in Broadmoor Matt, man ????
doonhamer you need to lighten up, there only horsing around. Neighhhone can really take this too serious, It's horses for main Courses. i'm gonna hoof it on down to Aldi to see if they have any left. and maybe wash them down with some Red Rum, while watching Neighhhhbours.

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glyn says...
1:37pm Wed 16 Jan 13

For years I have been asked if I had eaten horse meat and I always said "no, not to my knowledge".

I have always said that you do not know what your eating. Who knows whats in our curries and kebabs.

At the end of the day, as other writers have said, at least customers got some meat and its healthy. No harm done

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Butafly says...
1:40pm Wed 16 Jan 13

despite the recent news, tesco say that their beef burger sales remain STABLE!

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behonest says...
2:04pm Wed 16 Jan 13

When it comes to a Tesco scandal, it never pours, it reins.

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Voice-of-reality says...
3:07pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Given the number of gypsy horses that one often sees outside Iceland and Aldi in Bishop Auckland, is some enterprising young fellow cutting out the middle man? The truth must be told....

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rat man says...
3:45pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Tesco's say that they have been saddled with thousands of burgers on their shelves which they cannot sell

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rat man says...
3:53pm Wed 16 Jan 13

I ate one of their burgers and had the trots for a week.

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blindgary1 says...
4:00pm Wed 16 Jan 13

29% horse yes i allways wondered why mc donals was built near that meat factory,and the poor farmers of the new forest and dartmoor only got a quid for each pony, i bet they feel ripped off now but saying that the horse meat probaly gave the burger a beefy taste tastes like beef i have eating donkey in pourtugal lovely in a bun .

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Bagatino says...
4:02pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Ah yes, the tiny traces of horsemeat in these burgers must obviously account for the various cases of food poisoning that may or may not have occured over the past one day to period. It's nothing to do with the fact that it was undercooked/of extremely low quality/just another appalling excuse for a meal etc...

It is of course, totally unfathomable that horse meat is perfectly safe to eat if cooked properly. If only it were the same for beef, pork, chick- ... oh... hold on a minute...

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battboy77 says...
4:07pm Wed 16 Jan 13

I wish people would just stop nagging about this!!! I would love to voice my opinion in public but quite frankly my throats a bit horse.

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loan_star says...
5:07pm Wed 16 Jan 13

I went to buy some burgers from Tesco but it was a mare finding any!

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rat man says...
5:21pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Have you tried Tesco's new Fillydelphia cheese to compliment the their burger range?

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tomtopper says...
5:22pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Forget the Tesco burgers... Have you tried the meatballs? They're the dogs ****..

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rat man says...
5:26pm Wed 16 Jan 13

FSA say they are now testing Tesco and Lidl horseradish sauce for traces of beef!

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rat man says...
6:20pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Burgers on sale in Iceland Stores have now been implicated. Clearly, this is just the tip of the iceburger!

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rat man says...
7:51pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Following the success of food products endorsed by the likes of Linda Mc Cartney, Paul Newman, and LLoyd Grossman Tesco's have announced that their new range of Frankie Dettori burgers and meat balls will be on their shelves by the weekend. They have assured customers that unlike Frankie, this new range will not contain any banned substances.

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spragger says...
9:04pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Tesco's gallop by the competition after another stable year

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Voice-of-reality says...
10:54pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Surely the government is to blame... if fox hunting had been allowed again there would be work for the hunt horses and they would not need to be recycled so young.

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theWorkerScum says...
11:02pm Wed 16 Jan 13

Didn't realise there were so many comedians in the north east. I think it appalling I only like eating animals that aren't cute.

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greenfinger says...
9:04am Thu 17 Jan 13

the mrs asked if i wanted anything on my tesco burger. i said "yeah i'll have a fiver each way please".

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Heretic says...
9:18am Thu 17 Jan 13

The Aldi horse burgers were nice, but I prefer my Lidl pony.

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Heretic says...
9:20am Thu 17 Jan 13

Breaking news: Uniquorn found in Tesco veggie burgers.

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tomtopper says...
11:24am Thu 17 Jan 13

I've had it up to here with these tesco horse burger jokes.
They're only for fools......... and horses.

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tomtopper says...
11:26am Thu 17 Jan 13

And to everyone posting jokes about Tesco burgers.... Could you also mention Lidl, Aldi, Waitrose and Iceland as it seems only fair.

It's not a one horse race, you know

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fracker says...
11:51am Thu 17 Jan 13

now i know where the horses i backed finished up!!

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fracker says...
11:51am Thu 17 Jan 13

now i know where the horses i backed finished up!!

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hullgodfreyshire says...
7:25pm Thu 17 Jan 13

they asked me if I had eaten any of their burgers
I relied "neigh laddie neigh

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Lifetime Townie says...
8:30pm Thu 17 Jan 13

What's the problem with eating horsemeat, it was a wartime food for some people and were glad to eat it.
Lets have more of it!

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Oaky says...
12:45pm Sun 20 Jan 13

I heard there were complaints in France some time ago when some of their horseburgers had traces of beef in them.

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Longbowman666 says...
6:37pm Sun 20 Jan 13

This scandal simply just goes to show that you really can flog a dead horse!

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Oaky says...
6:48pm Sun 20 Jan 13

You can actually buy horse meat online but it's quite expensive. That's the only reason I haven't tried it.

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