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U.K. horse meat source still unknown

The horse-meat-in-beef scandal keeps getting bigger in Europe. On Monday Ireland’s agriculture department announced that frozen beef from Poland sold to an Irish burger-maker contained up to 75 percent horse meat. On Tuesday, Freeza Meats of Northern Ireland said they had a batch of Polish “beef” that was 80 percent horse meat.

The investigation is currently centered with McAdam Foods of Monaghan, Ireland. The company says it was “shocked and astonished” that horse meat was found in product it provided. McAdam tells “The Grocer” the meat in question came from Poland and was imported on the understanding it was documented, labeled and understood to be beef and nothing else. It is not certain where the horse meat entered the supply chain, meat moves rather freely between countries in the European Union.

The whole thing started in early January when random testing by the Irish Food Safety Authority found horse and pig DNA in what was supposed to be all-beef burgers.

Officials stress there is no health threat from horse meat.