Food minister: “Unacceptable” that horsemeat has been sold in Denmark

Grocers’ association says that horsemeat has been found in frozen lasagne sold in Denmark

Well, it was probably inevitable. 

 

The horsemeat scandal that has been steadily trotting across Europe has now made its neigh … er, way to Denmark. 

 

On Wednesday it was revealed that lasagne with horsemeat has likely been sold in Denmark. The grocers' organisation De Samvirkende Købmænd wrote in a press release that frozen lasagnes from the French producer Comigel sold by its subcontractor Spanghero contained horsemeat and were sold in Danish supermarkets including SPAR and SuperBest. 

 

Danish supermarkets pulled Comigel products when suspicions of horsemeat first surfaced, but an analysis of Comigel products with meat provided by Spanghero proved that products labelled as containing beef did indeed contain horsemeat. 

 

In response to the news that horsemeat had made its way to Danish shelves, the food minister, Mette Gjerskov (Socialdemokraterne) stressed that the nation's food authorities, Fødevarestyrelsen, would inspect Danish supermarkets to ensure that stores have pulled the products off the shelves that they said they would.

 

"It is completely unacceptable that consumers get beef lasagne that contains horsemeat," Gjerskov told DR News. "I hope that the fraudsters are discovered and the case comes before a court."

 

Although there is no health risk in eating horsemeat, and many cultures routinely eat it, at the heart of the biggest food scandal in Europe in recent years is that the meat is being sold under the guise of being beef.  At least one Danish company, Flex Food Holding ApS, is suspected of selling horsemeat and calling it beef.




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