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Dutch authorities have found that 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two local trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.
The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.
According to Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, there was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health.
Dutch authorities have found that 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two local trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat
In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.
The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.
Both companies are owned by one man who has already previously been investigated by food safety officials.
The latest find was made as part of EU-wide tests to trace horse DNA in processed beef foods and to detect a veterinary drug used on horses.
The results of the rest of the tests conducted across the EU will be made public next week – giving consumers a better idea of how widespread the scandal has been.
The authorities decided to release their results early because of the magnitude of what they had discovered.
The recall covers meat dating back to 1 January 2011 up until 15 February 2013, the Dutch food authority said on Wednesday.
Due to the lapse of time, a lot of the meat “may already have been consumed”, it added.
Inspectors examining the records of the Dutch trading companies found that the origin of the supplied meat was unclear. As a result it was not possible to confirm whether slaughterhouses had respected procedures.
Some of the suspect meat was also exported to Germany, France and Spain, where authorities have been alerted.
“It might contain traces of horsemeat, but we don’t know for certain at the moment if this is the case,” said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch food authority.
“The buyers have probably already processed the meat and sold it on. They, in turn, are obliged to inform their own customers.”
All EU member states have been informed of the Dutch discovery, said EU spokesman Frederic Vincent.
They have been urged to check whether or not processed meat products coming from the plants in question were still on the market, he added.
“The Dutch announcement is a consequence of the investigations which were launched by EU member states a few weeks ago,” the EU spokesman said.
“Given the size of the fraud, the Dutch decided to go public with their discovery.”
Traces of horsemeat have been found in numerous processed beef frozen meals across Europe.
In February, Dutch officials raided a meat processing plant suspected of mislabelling beef and ordered the withdrawal of suspicious products from supermarket shelves.
Other countries affected included the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.
The EU is set to adopt an Animal and Plant Health legislative proposal in the coming weeks, which includes clauses designed to tackle food fraud.
Ikea has decided to withdraw nearly 18,000 of its elk meat lasagnes from sale in Europe after they were found to contain pork.
The Swedish company said sales were stopped in late March, and tests confirmed the contamination on Friday.
Ikea said the pork had no health risks, but that it did not “tolerate any other ingredients than the ones stipulated in our recipes or specifications”.
This is the latest in a series of meat contamination scandals across Europe.
Ikea has decided to withdraw nearly 18,000 of its elk meat lasagnes from sale in Europe after they were found to contain pork
Ikea was among several companies whose meat products were found to contain horsemeat. Earlier this year it withdrew its meatballs from sale in its restaurants and grocery departments.
In a statement, the furniture giant said sales of the Lasagne Alg – elk lasagne – were suspended last month after Belgian authorities detected pork in them.
Further tests were carried out, and Ikea confirmed that one batch of the lasagne made by the suppliers Familjen Dafgard, with an expiry date in January 2014, contained 1.4% pork.
A total of 17,600 lasagnes have been removed from the shelves.
Swedish newspaper the Local quoted the meat suppliers as saying the contamination was due to its facilities not being cleaned properly between the handling of different animals and that it was taking steps to improve its practices.
“Together with our supplier, we have implemented improvements to ensure that our products should not contain any other ingredients than those declared on the packages,” said the Ikea statement.
“Ikea is committed to serving and selling high-quality food that is safe, healthy and produced with care for the environment and the people who produce it.”
Russian officials say horsemeat has been detected in sausages advertised as pork and imported from Austria.
The Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said the sausages contained both horse and poultry DNA.
A spokesman said the company that supplied the meat had been struck off a list of approved suppliers.
Horsemeat was first found in meals and burgers in the UK and Ireland last month, and traces have since been found in meat products across Europe.
“Tests on a shipment of Frankfurter sausages found the DNA of horses, chicken, cattle and soya,” Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement.
Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Alexeyenko told AFP news agency that the shipment of more than 20 tonnes of sausages had been imported from the Austrian city of Linz. He did not name the supplier.
Russian officials say horsemeat has been detected in sausages advertised as pork and imported from Austria
Horsemeat is considered a traditional delicacy in Russia and is available in many restaurants and stores.
Alexei Alexeyenko said the problem with the contaminated meat was that it was not clear what it was made of and that old or ill animals could have been used.
The meat will either be destroyed or returned to the supplier, he added.
Russian media originally reported the sausages being documented as 100% beef, but later reports said they were labelled as having 80% pork as well as other non-meat ingredients.
At least a dozen countries are involved in the horsemeat affair, which implicates some of the biggest meat processors and food producers.
On Monday, Swedish company Ikea withdrew meatballs from sale in 14 European countries after tests in the Czech Republic found traces of horsemeat in a batch made in Sweden.
EU agricultural officials are looking at ways of tightening up procedures and ensuring greater traceability in the wake of the scandal.
Ikea has decided to halt sales of its meatballs in Sweden after meatballs set for sale at its stores in the Czech Republic were found to contain horsemeat.
The discovery comes as European Union agriculture ministers meet in Brussels for talks widely expected to focus on the growing horsemeat scandal.
Inspectors in the Czech Republic said horsemeat was found in meatballs made in Sweden labelled as beef and pork.
The scandal began last month with frozen meals and burgers.
It spread from the UK and Ireland, with traces of horsemeat and horse DNA being found in food across the EU.
Supermarkets across Europe have had to withdraw affected prepared meals from their shelves.
Some 760kg (1,675 lb) of the Swedish-style meatballs were intercepted and stopped from reaching Czech shelves, officials told the Associated Press.
Horsemeat was also found in beef burgers imported from Poland, the Czech State Veterinary Administration said.
The labelling of the origin of meat and the traceability of the products will be high on the agenda at the EU ministers meeting.
Ikea has decided to halt sales of its meatballs in Sweden after meatballs set for sale at its stores in the Czech Republic were found to contain horsemeat
Europe’s food retailers depend on a complex network of brokers, cold stores and meat-cutting plants around the continent from which to source the ingredients wherever they are cheapest.
The evidence of the past few weeks shows that national food safety authorities have failed to identify a problem in the supply chain over a significant period of time, he adds.
While the original agenda of the EU meeting included support for rural communities and the common fisheries policy, it is expected ministers will now try to come up with measures to tackle the horsemeat scandal.
Those could include a pan-European labelling project for frozen food, a move which has the backing of France and Germany.
Paris and Berlin both want compulsory labelling and traceability.
At least a dozen countries are involved in the horsemeat affair, which implicates some of the biggest meat processors and food producers.
Italy joined the list on Saturday, reporting horsemeat in some lasagne products.
On Friday, Germany’s consumer affairs ministry announced it had found traces of horse DNA in 67 of 830 food products tested.
Irish authorities on Friday suspended production at one processing plant after horsemeat was found labelled as beef.
Germany’s development minister has suggested food tainted with horsemeat should be distributed to the poor.
Dirk Niebel said he supported the proposal by a member of the governing CDU party, and concluded: “We can’t just throw away good food.”
The opposition dismissed the idea, but a priest said it should be considered.
Meanwhile, traces of horse DNA have been found in six tons of minced beef and 2,400 packs of lasagne bolognese seized from a company in Italy.
The products were packaged by Italian group Primia, which is based in the town of San Giovanni in Persiceto, near the city of Bologna.
The health ministry said Primia had used meat from another company in Brescia and originally supplied by two other companies, also based there.
It is the first positive test in Italy since the scandal erupted last month.
Earlier, the Italian authorities said they had found no traces of horsemeat in beef products seized this week from the Swiss food giant, Nestle.
The health ministry said the 26 tons of cooked and frozen mince beef meals would be returned. A Nestle spokesman welcomed the decision.
On Monday, Nestle announced that it was withdrawing two types of beef pasta meals from supermarkets in Italy and Spain after test revealed traces of horse DNA.
A problem was identified with a supplier in Germany, H J Schypke, it said.
Another German supplier, Dreistem, has been blamed for recalls of tinned goulash sold by the Lidl in Germany and Scandinavia, while a third, Vossko, has been accused by Liechtenstein’s Hiclona of supplying beef tainted by horse for a pasta product withdrawn in Austria and Germany. All three companies have blamed their own suppliers.
On Friday evening, Germany’s consumer affairs ministry announced that it had now found traces of horse DNA in 67 of 830 food products tested.
Germany’s development minister has suggested food tainted with horsemeat should be distributed to the poor
On Saturday, a prominent member of the governing CDU party, Hartwig Fischer, told Bild newspaper that products tainted with horsemeat should be distributed to the poor.
The opposition has dismissed the idea as “absurd” and an insult to poor people, but Prelate Bernhard Felmberg, the senior representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), has backed the proposal.
“We as a Church find the throw-away mentality in our society concerning. How and whether to distribute the products in question would have to be examined,” the priest said.
“But to throw away food that could be consumed without risk is equally bad as false labelling and cannot be a solution.”
Meanwhile, France’s agriculture ministry said several horse carcasses containing the drug phenylbutazone, also known as bute, had probably entered the human food chain.
A ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency that it was alerted by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) that six carcasses had been exported to France in January, but that the meat had already been processed. There was only a “minor” health risk, he added.
Earlier, three major French food companies have agreed to use only French beef in their products.
Findus – one of the firms at the heart of the scandal – and retailers Carrefour and Intermarche announced at the French Agricultural Salon that they would start using labels saying “100% French” from March.
French President Francois Hollande has said he wants mandatory labelling of the origin of meat used in processed food products. However, only a change in European Union legislation can compel manufacturers.
European agriculture ministers are expected to discuss origin labelling and meat traceability at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
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Swiss-based firm Nestle has removed beef pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA.
Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, halted deliveries of products containing meat from a German supplier.
The company is the latest in a string of major food producers to find traces of horsemeat in beef meals.
A spokesman for Nestle said levels of horse DNA were very low but above 1%.
Last week the firm said its products did not contain horsemeat.
Nestle withdrew two chilled pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain.
Lasagnes a la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen product for catering businesses produced in France, will also be withdrawn.
A spokesman for the company said Nestle had identified a problem with a supplier from Germany.
A statement on the Nestle website identified the supplier as HJ Schypke, a sub-contractor of JBS Toledo, a major meat processing company based in Belgium.
“There is no food safety issue, but the mislabelling of products means they fail to meet the very high standards consumers expect from us,” the statement said.
Nestle has removed beef pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA
In addition to removing the three affected products from sale, Nestle would be “enhancing our existing comprehensive quality assurance programme by adding new tests on beef for horse DNA prior to production in Europe”, it added.
The news that Nestle is now having to withdraw some foods, shows the problem is far wider than previously thought and, critics say, how dangerously unregulated the food industry has become.
The widening scandal over mislabelled horsemeat has affected at least 12 European countries, including Switzerland, where the retailer Co-op – famous for its broad range of organic, locally-sourced food – was on Monday forced to remove nine different products from its shelves.
Last Wednesday, Co-op said it had found horsemeat in its own-brand frozen lasagne produced by the Comigel food processing company in France.
Co-op now faces possible charges of negligence from the Swiss authorities.
France meanwhile partially lifted a production ban for another meat processing firm, Spanghero.
The French government revoked its licence last week over suspicions that Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef, an allegation the company rejects.
The French authorities said that unwitting workers should not be penalized.
As a result Spanghero will be allowed to produce minced meat, sausages and ready-to-eat meals, but not to stock frozen meat.
Meanwhile the UK and Germany have also both pledged to step up testing of frozen food products.
French government has announced today that meat processing company Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef.
Spanghero’s licence is being suspended while a probe continues, agriculture minister Stephane Le Foll said.
The firm has denied the allegations, saying it only ever dealt in meat it believed to be beef.
A widening scandal over mislabelled horsemeat has affected at least 12 European countries.
In the UK, three people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with the sale of horsemeat.
Two suspects were detained at a meat processing plant near Aberystwyth in Wales, and a third was arrested at an abattoir in West Yorkshire.
The French government believes that the sale of horsemeat labelled as beef went on for six months and involved around 750 tonnes of meat.
Spanghero imported meat from Romania and sold it on to another company, Comigel, which made frozen ready meals at its factory in Luxembourg.
French consumer affairs minister Benoit Hamon said the meat left Romania clearly and correctly labelled as horse. It was afterwards that it was relabelled as beef.
“From the investigation, it would seem that the first agent or actor in this network who stamped <<beef>> on horsemeat from Romania was Spanghero,” Benoit Hamon said.
There was “no reason to doubt the good faith” of the Romanian abattoir that originally provided the meat, Benoit Hamon added.
French government has announced today that meat processing company Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef
The investigation says some blame may rest with Comigel, which made the ready meals sold around Europe.
Staff there should have noticed anomalies in the paperwork, and realized from the smell and look of the meat once it was defrosted that it was not beef, Benoit Hamon said.
Spanghero has strongly denied wrongdoing.
“Spanghero confirms having placed an order for beef, having been led to believe it received beef, and having sold back what it thought was beef, properly labelled as such, in line with European and French regulations,” the company said in a statement.
The latest country to be hit by the crisis is Germany, where some supermarket chains have removed frozen lasagne from sale after traces of horsemeat were detected.
The widening scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains across the Europe.
The UK has asked the European investigative agency Europol to coordinate a continent-wide investigation into an alleged international conspiracy to pass horsemeat off as beef.
On Wednesday the EU urged member states to conduct random DNA tests for horsemeat in beef products from 1st of March.
EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said the programme of random tests should report after 30 days, but testing should continue for three months.
Tonio Borg was speaking after a meeting in Brussels with agriculture ministers from affected countries.
He said member states should also test for the presence of the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone – known as “bute”.
The painkiller is used to treat horses – particularly racehorses – but is considered potentially harmful to humans.
On Thursday Britain’s Food Standard Agency – the FSA – said that tests found eight horses, killed in the UK, tested positive for bute and six may have entered the food chain in France.
But England’s chief medical officer said the highest level detected posed “very little risk to human health”.
The prime minister’s spokesman said the UK was working closely with the French authorities to track the carcasses.
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UK retailer Tesco’s DNA tests have revealed that some of its Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese contain 60% horsemeat.
The meal, withdrawn from sale on Tuesday, came from the French factory producing Findus beef lasagne, also at the centre of a row over horsemeat.
Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has told MPs of plans to test all processed beef in the UK.
Romania has rejected claims that it was responsible for wrongly labeling horsemeat from its abattoirs.
Tesco took the frozen bolognese off the shelves when it found out Findus was concerned about the source of its meat at the Comigel processing plant in Metz, north-eastern France.
It is one of several products that have been withdrawn from UK shelves amid the current scandal over horsemeat in food products in the UK and Europe.
Tesco Group technical director Tim Smith said: “The frozen Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese should contain only Irish beef from our approved suppliers. The source of the horsemeat is still under investigation by the relevant authorities.
“The level of contamination suggests that Comigel was not following the appropriate production process for our Tesco product and we will not take food from their facility again.
“We are very sorry that we have let customers down.”
Owen Paterson told MPs he had called in representatives of all Britain’s producers, retailers and distributors and “made it clear” he expected to see immediate testing of all processed beef products across the supply chain.
He said testing should take place every three months, and the Food Standards Agency should be notified of results.
Owen Paterson told representatives from the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the British Meat Processors Association, the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, the Institute of Grocery Distribution and individual retailers that he expected to see:
- “meaningful results from this testing by the end of this week”;
- “more testing of products for horse along the supply chain and that the industry must co-operate fully with the FSA on this”;
- “publication of industry test results every three months through the FSA”;
- “and that they let the FSA know as soon as they become aware of a potential problem in their products”.
Tesco’s DNA tests have revealed that some of its Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese contain 60 percent horsemeat
In the Commons, Labour’s Mary Creagh accused Owen Paterson of being too slow to respond as incidents emerged.
“The secretary of state had to be called back to London from his long weekend to deal with the crisis,” she claimed.
“Until Saturday’s panic summit, he hadn’t actually met the food industry to address this crisis.”
News of the tests came after Romanian PM Victor Ponta earlier on Monday denied two abattoirs in his country sold horsemeat purported to be beef to European food companies.
The abattoirs had been linked to the contamination of processed meat products sold in Europe. Victor Ponta said checks were carried out and there had been no breach of rules and standards.
In France, consumer affairs minister Benoit Hamon said that the whole of the food industry would be under heightened surveillance, with more random sampling of products and wider use of DNA tests to determine the origin of meat.
French inspectors were at the Comigel headquarters in Metz in north-eastern France on Monday. Findus meals were made by the company at its Luxembourg factory.
Investigators were also at the offices in the south of France of the importer Spanghero, which brought the meat to France from Romania.
Last week Findus UK took its frozen beef lasagne, made by Comigel, off the shelves after some samples were found to contain up to 100% horsemeat.
Seven French supermarkets have withdrawn frozen ready-meals made by the company.
The controversy surrounding contamination of meat products has also affected firms in the Irish Republic and Poland.
Last month, Irish food inspectors announced they had found horsemeat in some burgers stocked by a number of UK supermarket chains, including Tesco, Iceland and Lidl.
And on Monday night, one Dutch supermarket chain took its Prima Frost brand of lasagne off the shelves amid fears it may contain horsemeat.
Owen Paterson said he would meet with his European counterparts and the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy Tonio Borg later this week in the wake of the scandal.
“At the moment this appears to be an issue of fraud and mis-labeling.
“But if anything suggests the need for changes to surveillance and enforcement in the UK we will not hesitate to make those changes,” he said.
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French ministers are to hold talks with key players in the meat industry as the horsemeat scandal widens to up to 16 countries.
Seven French supermarket chains have withdrawn frozen beef meals made by Findus and Comigel.
The move followed the discovery that foods sold in Europe and the UK labelled as beef contained horsemeat.
The scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains across the EU.
It has already had an impact on distributors in the UK, France, Sweden, Ireland and Romania.
Food products in a further 11 EU countries may be affected, it is feared.
French Food Minister Guillaume Garot said he wanted to ensure that all contentious products had been removed.
Romania is investigating claims one of its abattoirs is responsible.
In the UK, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is to update MPs on the latest developments in the scandal.
Owen Paterson has already said a moratorium on EU meat imports, which has been called for, was not allowed under EU rules.
The controversy surrounding contamination of meat products has also affected firms in the Irish Republic and Poland.
Last month, Irish food inspectors announced they had found horsemeat in some burgers stocked by a number of UK supermarket chains, including Tesco, Iceland and Lidl.
French ministers are to hold talks with key players in the meat industry as the horsemeat scandal widens to up to 16 countries
The seven French supermarket chains that have already withdrawn some of their frozen meat-based meals, including lasagne, from the shelves are Auchan, Casino, Carrefour, Cora, Monoprix, Grand Jury and Picard.
“We want to get the latest from the whole range of people involved in the food chain on what has happened and start to learn the first lessons,” Guillaume Garot told Agence France Presse.
He said producers, food processors, distributers, supermarkets and representatives from the food industry are expected to attend Monday’s meeting.
An initial investigation by French officials revealed that French firm Poujol bought the frozen meat from a Cypriot trader, France’s Junior Minister for Consumer Goods, Benoit Hamon, said in a statement on Sunday.
The trader had, in turn, received it from a Dutch food trader, and that Dutch company had purchased the meat from two Romanian slaughterhouses.
Poujol supplied the meat to a Luxembourg factory owned by French group Comigel.
The meat was then sold under the Sweden-based brand, Findus, which has said it has been misled by its Romanian meat supplier.
The food giant has already withdrawn ready meals in France and Sweden after it emerged that its frozen beef lasagne sold in Britain contained up to 100% horsemeat.
Responding to the food scandal, the director of Findus France, Matthieu Lambeaux, said in a statement the company would file a legal complaint on Monday.
“We thought we had certified French beef in our products. But in reality, we were supplied with Romanian horsemeat. We have been deceived,” Matthieu Lambeaux said.
The EU commissioner for agriculture is also due to meet Romania’s foreign minister on Monday.
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Food Standards Agency (FSA) in UK has announced that the meat of some beef lasagne products recalled by Findus earlier this week was 100% horsemeat.
On Monday, Findus withdrew from retailers its beef lasagne in 320g, 360g and 500g sizes as a precaution.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said the findings were “completely unacceptable”, but Findus said it did not believe it was a food safety issue.
The FSA said companies would now be required to test their beef products.
“In order to get to the bottom of this, we’re going to be requiring every company to test every product line,” said Catherine Brown, the FSA’s chief executive.
“If we find any other cases, we will pursue our investigations vigorously until we find out what’s happened and put a stop to it.”
Catherine Brown said it was “highly likely” that criminal activity was to blame for horsemeat being found in some meals.
The FSA said Findus had tested 18 of its beef lasagne products and found 11 meals containing between 60% and 100% horsemeat.
People have been warned not to eat the products, which were made for Findus by French food supplier Comigel.
The FSA said: “We have no evidence to suggest that this is a food safety risk. However, the FSA has ordered Findus to test the lasagne for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or <<bute>>.
“Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain as [the drug] may pose a risk to human health.
“The Findus beef lasagne was distributed to the main UK supermarkets and smaller convenience stores. Findus has already begun a full recall of these products.
“People who have bought any Findus beef lasagne products are advised not to eat them and return them to the shop they bought them from.”
FSA in UK has announced that the meat of some beef lasagne products recalled by Findus earlier this week was 100 percent horsemeat
Owen Paterson said the presence of unauthorized ingredients “cannot be tolerated”.
“The responsibility for the safety and authenticity of food lies with those who produce it, and who sell or provide it to the final consumer. I know that food producers, retailers and caterers are as concerned as we are at the course of recent events,” he said.
He said the government was working closely with businesses to “root out any illegal activity” and enforce regulations.
Findus said the product was manufactured by a third party supplier and not by Findus. The frozen food company said all its other products had been tested and were not affected.
Findus said in a statement: “We understand this is a very sensitive subject for consumers and we would like to reassure you we have reacted immediately. We do not believe this to be a food safety issue.
“We are confident that we have fully resolved this supply chain issue.
“We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our customers for any inconvenience caused.”
This week supermarket chains Aldi and Tesco, as well as Findus UK, withdrew some beef products from sale after concerns were raised at their French supplier.
Comigel alerted Findus and Aldi that their products “do not conform to specification”.
They advised them to remove Findus Beef Lasagne and Aldi’s Today’s Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today’s Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese.
Tesco also decided to withdraw Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese.
The Tesco product was produced at the same Comigel site but there was no evidence of contamination, the supermarket said.
The wider food contamination controversy arose in mid-January when Irish food inspectors announced they had found horsemeat in some burgers stocked by a number of UK supermarket chains including Tesco, Iceland and Lidl.
Asda has withdrawn products supplied by Newry-based Freeza Meats which was storing meat found to contain a high proportion of horse DNA. Two samples were found to contain 80% horsemeat.
The horsemeat controversy has hit the Irish meat-processing industry, with a number of suppliers on both sides of the border affected.
The survey “aims to identify and understand factors that may lead to the presence of meat species that are not labelled as an ingredient, so that this can be explained, eliminated or correctly labelled”.
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The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages.
Sports officials in Kazakhstan say that the traditional dish may help the athletes’ performance.
But it is unclear whether the sausages will be allowed into the UK, because of strict import controls on meat.
Kazakhstan is fielding 114 athletes at the London games, which begin in two weeks.
The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages
Horsemeat is an indispensable part of the traditional Kazakh diet, and a dried horsemeat sausage known as “kazy” is particularly cherished.
The Kazakh team is made up mainly of boxers, wrestlers and weightlifters, all sports associated with a protein-rich diet.
“We’ll bring horse meat and caviar for each team,” sports official Elsiyar Kanagatov said, adding that athletes could achieve “outstanding results” if fed properly.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan is fiercely ambitious and there is also the promise of hard cash should athletes succeed – $200,000 for a gold medal, $150,000 for silver and $75,000 for bronze, our correspondent says.
The team has won 39 medals including nine gold since its debut at the Olympics in 1996.
