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Horsemeat scandal: MPs debate crisis Horsemeat scandal: 'Too trusting' on meat supplies
(35 minutes later)
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is to meet food industry representatives for the second time in a week to discuss the horsemeat crisis. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has said "too much is taken on trust" when it comes to verifying meat supplies.
Mr Paterson reiterated that it appeared "criminal activity" had been at the heart of the scandal. Speaking at an MPs' debate about how horsemeat had been found in beef products, he said it was "outrageous that consumers had been misled by what appears to be deliberate fraud".
In an MPs' debate Labour said consumers deserved to know what they were eating. He was criticised by Labour for the time that testing of beef products was taking - up to 10 weeks.
Meanwhile, the meat in some Tesco Everyday Value spaghetti bolognese has been found to contain 60% horsemeat. Labour said consumers deserved to know what they were eating sooner.
Horsemeat has been detected in several branded and supermarket-own processed meat products over the past few weeks.Horsemeat has been detected in several branded and supermarket-own processed meat products over the past few weeks.
Tougher testing The crisis has spread all over Europe as details of the convoluted supply chain in the meat industry emerged.
Tuesday's meeting will include supermarkets, the Institute of Grocery Distributors and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and comes after a larger summit was held on Saturday to try to discover how products labelled as beef contained up to 100% horsemeat. 'Paper-based system'
Retailers have agreed to carry out tougher testing of beef products. Mr Paterson said he had "a gut feeling and a very clear belief... that too much is taken on trust within the current system", adding that "we do need to do more testing".
He said: "At the moment it is very much a paper-based system, too much taken on trust."
Labour have urged the government to speed up testing in order to restore consumer confidence, and condemned the testing regime already announced by the government.
MPs rejected a motion calling for the government to ensure that the police and fraud specialists investigate criminal networks involved in horsemeat adulteration and speed up the FSA tests to restore consumer confidence.
Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said: "You cannot seriously expect people to wait 10 weeks for the results.
"Do you think surveying just 224 products across the country rises to the challenge of this scandal when you have asked the supermarkets to test thousands of their products by Friday?"
She went on: "We all want the British public to have confidence the food they are buying in the shops from our producers is correctly labelled, legal and safe."
She called for a tightening of microchipping and the registering with passports of horses destined for slaughter for food production in the UK. She repeated statistics showing that 6% of horses killed in Britain later tested positive for the drug bute, which is not cleared for human consumption.
Mr Paterson briefed the cabinet on the situation earlier and has spoken to various EU counterparts and is due to meet them in Brussels on Wednesday.Mr Paterson briefed the cabinet on the situation earlier and has spoken to various EU counterparts and is due to meet them in Brussels on Wednesday.
Labour have urged the government to speed up testing in order to restore consumer confidence. Later on Tuesday he will meet supermarkets, the Institute of Grocery Distributors and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discuss the issue further.
Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said: "We certainly need to make sure what is coming in is exactly as it says on the label. 'Suspicion not enough'
"I do think there is an issue with large quantities of horsemeat coming in from countries such as Canada and Mexico ... tonnes and tonnes of this meat coming in where there is no traceability and no guarantee about what these horses have had injected."
She blamed the government's decision to "fragment the Food Standards Agency's responsibilities".
"We all want the British public to have confidence the food they are buying in the shops from our producers is correctly labelled, legal and safe.
"It is not good enough to say, 'we don't know what is in your food but whatever it is, we guarantee it is safe to eat'. The British people deserve so much better than that."
She called for a tightening up of microchipping and passporting of horses slaughtered for food production in the UK, repeating statistics which showed 6% of horses killed in Britain later tested positive for the drug bute, which is not cleared for human consumption.
However, Mr Paterson said: "The Food Standards Agency has been quite clear giving advice to all those who supply to public institutions - schools, prisons, hospitals - and as I said [on Monday] it is the suppliers who have the ultimate responsibility for the quality of what they sell."
Police await evidence
Police said they were waiting for any evidence of criminal activity from the FSA before an investigation could begin, as suspicion alone was not enough.Police said they were waiting for any evidence of criminal activity from the FSA before an investigation could begin, as suspicion alone was not enough.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "People have got suspicions, I think the minister said there are two broad options, which is either negligence or criminal conspiracy.Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "People have got suspicions, I think the minister said there are two broad options, which is either negligence or criminal conspiracy.
"They are the options, but of course we can't investigate to see which of the options is true, we just need some information to help us.""They are the options, but of course we can't investigate to see which of the options is true, we just need some information to help us."
He also said the location of the crime - abroad or in the UK - would determine who investigated.He also said the location of the crime - abroad or in the UK - would determine who investigated.
Meanwhile, two Northern Ireland Assembly committees are meeting later to debate the issue of contaminated meat. Meanwhile, two Northern Ireland Assembly committees have been told that contaminated meat points to fraudulent activity and to Europe.
However, Gerry McCurdy, of the Food Standards Agency, told the health and agriculture committees that he could not be more specific.
A consignment of meat at Newry firm Freeza Meats was last week found to contain about 80% horsemeat.A consignment of meat at Newry firm Freeza Meats was last week found to contain about 80% horsemeat.
The horsemeat scandal was sparked last month when Irish food inspectors said they had found horsemeat in some burgers stocked by a number of UK supermarket chains. Meanwhile, href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21430329" > a former senior scientist at the Food Standards Agency said an EU decision to reclassify a type of mincemeat widely used in the UK had played a significant part in creating the horsemeat crisis.
The crisis has spread all over Europe as details of the convoluted supply chain in the meat industry emerge. Dr Mark Woolfe said the decision to ban desinewed meat had prompted producers to go outside the UK to source supplies of cheap mince, but the FSA denied this was to blame.
'Appropriate process' Anti-fraud inspections
On Monday, Tesco became the latest firm to announce it was dropping French food supplier Comigel after DNA tests on the frozen bolognese were known. On Monday, Tesco became the latest firm to announce it was dropping French food supplier Comigel.
The supermarket giant took the spaghetti bolognese off the shelves when it found out it came from the same factory as Findus beef lasagne, also at the centre of the horsemeat controversy. It removed Tesco Everyday Value spaghetti bolognese when it found out it had come from the same factory as Findus beef lasagne, also at the centre of the horsemeat controversy.
The bolognese was also tested for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone as animals treated with "bute" are not allowed to enter the food chain. The results were clear. The bolognese was also tested for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone as animals treated with "bute". The results were clear.
French anti-fraud inspectors have been at the Comigel headquarters in Metz, north-east France.French anti-fraud inspectors have been at the Comigel headquarters in Metz, north-east France.
Investigators were also at the offices of importer Spanghero, in the south of France, which brought the meat to France from Romania, via several other countries and agents.Investigators were also at the offices of importer Spanghero, in the south of France, which brought the meat to France from Romania, via several other countries and agents.
After Spanghero, the meat then went to a Comigel factory in Luxembourg, which made ready meals for Findus and retailers in 16 countries.
Romania has rejected claims it was responsible for wrongly describing horsemeat from its abattoirs as beef.
Have you consumed the products which have been found to contain horse meat? Are you in the countries where the inspections are taking place? Please contact us using the form belowHave you consumed the products which have been found to contain horse meat? Are you in the countries where the inspections are taking place? Please contact us using the form below