All clear in latest tests on beef (From Salisbury Journal)
If you have a story call our newsdesk on 01722 426511 or email us. To advertise call 01722 426500.
All clear in latest tests on beef
12:54pm Friday 1st March 2013 in National News © Press Association 2013
All minced beef products used by the UK's largest supermarkets have now been tested for horse meat, the BRC has said
The latest tests on beef products in the horse meat scandal have revealed no new cases of contamination, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
All minced beef lines used by the UK's largest supermarkets have been tested, the BRC said, with 95% of products used by all of the trade organisation's members checked.
The latest round of 361 tests on 103 products, carried out since February 22, revealed no new cases of contamination.
A total of 1,889 tests have been carried out by its members since January 20, the BRC said, with 0.3% of them finding contamination.
The organisation's food director, Andrew Opie said: "The UK's major supermarkets, and a number of other BRC-member food businesses, have now tested all existing processed minced beef products.
"The reassuring news is that another intensive week of testing has produced no new positive results. And, since this testing programme started in mid-January, just a third of one per cent of products have tested positive.
"But our members won't accept anything less than 100% compliance. We are working with the rest of the supply chain and with government to prevent any incidents in the future."
Across the industry, a first wave of tests found horse meat in products including Aldi's special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter-pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland's catering burger products, and Tesco Value frozen burgers and Value spaghetti bolognese.
A second wave of tests revealed contamination of Asda's chilled beef bolognese sauce, beefburgers, minced beef and halal minced beef sold by Sodexo, which supplies food to schools, care homes and the armed forces, and a Whitbread Group lasagne and beefburger.
