Irish Agriculture Minister: “Somebody is selling rogue product and somebody knows about it and is responsible.”

Still early days in the investigation into the discovery of more beef horse meat at a number of meat processing plants – and note Mick’s update here.  However, the cause of the trace amounts of pork DNA and equine DNA in some ‘beef’ products is still likely to be different.

But there are a few quotes worth highlighting, starting with this one in a Guardian report which also notes that in Poland, “government veterinary inspectors say they have so far been unable to establish evidence of a link to suppliers from that country.”

Professor Alan Reilly, chief executive of the FSAI, which initially highlighted the contamination of processed beef burgers with equine DNA in Irish-made products, said: “The net is tightening for sure but the investigations have some way to go.

“We are no longer talking about trace amounts… We are talking about horse meat. Somebody, some place is drip-feeding horsemeat into the burger manufacturing industry. We don’t know exactly where this is happening.” [added emphasis]

That point is echoed by the Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney in the Irish Times

Mr Coveney told the [Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture] he had invited Polish vets to Ireland if they considered it necessary to examine the product and accompanying documentation. “Somebody is selling rogue product and somebody knows about it and is responsible.”

And from the same Irish Times report

Fianna Fáil spokesman on food Éamon Ó Cuív has called for an independent investigation into the ongoing horse meat controversy.

“Somebody should be appointed by the Oireachtas to investigate the whole background to this particular issue and to find out what the source of the contamination is but also to examine the whole issue of horse meat in Ireland and how it’s handled,” Mr Ó Cuiv said this morning.

Indeed.