A horse is a horse of course of course...

[Le breton]

That just means two things. First the horsemeat obviously came from free-range horses and second Romania>>US when it comes to traffic laws.

I was hoping for a picture of Floyd Landis driving such a buggy (buggie?)

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

From a French perspective, this is an economic scam and cultural scandal, and not a nutritional problem. Horse meat is readily available here and even considered nutritionally superior by many.

Horse meat is cheaper than beef so buying horse meat and selling beef increases the margins. The Anglo Saxon culture doesn't accept horse meat (or rabbit for that matter), so that is the reason for the scandal in the UK and other countries.

Also, the fact that there was an exchange of ingredients doesn't reflect well on the controls in the food supply chain. If this happens, what other shady goings on are there.

I for one don't believe for a second that nobody but the boss knew what was happening. There must have been many Spanghero employees that knew what was happening and said nothing for whatever reason.

Rabbit is not widely eaten, but it is not considered taboo in the same way as horsemeat and it is available at butchers. I'm not sure if big supermarkets sell it as I never use them.

 

[Ney the Viking]

I wish Horse were more readily available in Denmark, it tastes quite good! A fun fact, the whole horse meat scandal has prompted that a lot of danish butchers has been approached by people wanting to try horse

 

[northstar]

I was hoping for a picture of Floyd Landis driving such a buggy (buggie?)

Wait! What!?! Floyd is doping his horse?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2k3bjri7tbc/TFy_m_4uWXI/AAAAAAAABGs/SQwDKS-6zHY/s1600/Mennonite+Buggy.jpg

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

These horses appear to come from Rumania where it's now illegal for horse-drawn carriages to use the main roads (never mind the autoroutes )

That is actually true and untrue. The ban on horses on main roads has been in place for the last 6 years.

What actually happened was that last year they changed the benefits system and if you possess a horse you are not entitled to claim certain benefits. So as a result people have been getting rid of their horses in the countryside.

The are companies in the UK that slaughter and export horse - news report today says that one warned 18 months ago about mislabelled horse in the food chain and was ignored.

Having worked in social care (in a previous life) I agree with guy from Iceland about councils wanting lower costs resulting in worse quality food. My budget per meal for the elderly was £2 or $3 usd or 2.3 euro and I had to provide 2 courses. If I went over one day I had to spend less the next day, while my local official used to drive down to see us in her 35k car. I do remember one day cooking some sausage rolls and thinking, they smell nice, I fancy one of those, and then looking at the list of ingredients, and having second thoughts.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

in germany ironically the high class supermarkets have been struck by the scandal, whereas the discounters appear to be squeeky clean.

This is not so. The discounters were amongst the first publicly named.

Susan

 

[sniper]

This is not so. The discounters were amongst the first publicly named.

Susan

Laut dem Online-Portal „Spiegel Online“ sollen auch Real, Tengelmann, Edeka, Eismann, Markant und Rewe Dortmund Produkte von Comigel oder deren Luxemburger Tochter Tavola bezogen haben.

http://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/p...von-skandal-betrieb-beliefert_aid_918813.html

Perhaps Eismann and Markant(?), but the others aren't discounters afaik.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

But lidl and aldi are and they were amongst the first named.

 

[Caruut]

Lidl and Aldi have both been implicated in the UK, if I recall correctly. Would they maintain a vastly different structure in Germany?

Also - is there really much to be worried about chemically pumped up racehorses entering the food chain? Surely the number of racehorses is so tiny compared to the total market for "beef" in pre-prepared meals that the resultant concentrations are going to be miniscule.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Lidl and Aldi have both been implicated in the UK, if I recall correctly. Would they maintain a vastly different structure in Germany?

Also - is there really much to be worried about chemically pumped up racehorses entering the food chain? Surely the number of racehorses is so tiny compared to the total market for "beef" in pre-prepared meals that the resultant concentrations are going to be miniscule.

UK racing is a big business. There are a lot of horses involved in **** races that exist only for the benefit of the gambling industry.

This article appeared a while back

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/06/racehorse-slaughter-animal-welfare

 

[ElChingon]

I'd eat more horse meat if I could find it, its actually pretty good and cheaper then steer, well depends on how you cook it. Then, again if I was in Korea I'd go to the dog meat places as well. Had rabbit in France and have it occasionally when its on the shelf (store fridge).

So basically just label it correctly and no problem. Years ago wasn't there an issue with Kangaroo meat getting added in at some Fast Food restaurants? No one ever complained their food tasted any differently, meaning its pretty good.

 

[leftover pie]

i honestly thought this thread was going to be about Black Caviar, undefeated in 23 races since Feb 2013.

not normal.

 

[Cobblestones]

i honestly thought this thread was going to be about Black Caviar, undefeated in 23 races since Feb 2013.

not normal.

Mmmmmmmhhh looks tasty.

 

[Le breton]

That is actually true and untrue. The ban on horses on main roads has been in place for the last 6 years.

What actually happened was that last year they changed the benefits system and if you possess a horse you are not entitled to claim certain benefits. So as a result people have been getting rid of their horses in the countryside.

.

Thanks, interesting. Had not heard (herd?) that part.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

i honestly thought this thread was going to be about Black Caviar, undefeated in 23 races since Feb 2013..

You never heard of "Mr. Ed"?

Susan

 

[Cycle Chic]

Why is this a Clinic thread ? i kept waiting to see a link to Contador eating horse meat.

 

[DirtyWorks]

But lidl and aldi are and they were amongst the first named.

Aldi as in the market chain? I've had some relations with them on the business side. I realize stuff is cheap there, buuuut it's cheap because it's dodgy. Full stop. Period. End of story. It's taken too long for them to get embarrased by their buying practices.

The bigger reason this is a problem is the EU's food safety system is supposed to catch this stuff AND that animals are to be cared for to a standard for meat production. There's no way to know about the meat.

The complexity required to pull this off should be enough to conclude that the EU's food safety is excellent. If you live in the U.S., it's more likely this is going on and will never get caught. Check into how the cattle industry tenderizes meat, or fills poultry with water sometime. It's a nice way to bury e. coli and make good money.

Here's another one, not for the squeamish. Please don't start the story if you are not comfortable with learning how meat ends up at the meat counter of your grocer. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/484/doppelgangers

 

[rhubroma]

From a French perspective, this is an economic scam and cultural scandal, and not a nutritional problem. Horse meat is readily available here and even considered nutritionally superior by many.

Horse meat is cheaper than beef so buying horse meat and selling beef increases the margins. The Anglo Saxon culture doesn't accept horse meat (or rabbit for that matter), so that is the reason for the scandal in the UK and other countries.

Also, the fact that there was an exchange of ingredients doesn't reflect well on the controls in the food supply chain. If this happens, what other shady goings on are there.

I for one don't believe for a second that nobody but the boss knew what was happening. There must have been many Spanghero employees that knew what was happening and said nothing for whatever reason.

There's a macellaria equino down the street here specialized, of course, in horse steaks and sausages. The Italians, as I'm sure is the case with the French, believe that horse meat is good for children and those afflicted with anemia.

The issue over nutritional fraud is, obviously, a market one and connected with industrial production, so that one can't be certain of the scruples of the suppliers. Anything to cut costs while incrementing the supply.

This is what happens, though, when all the business praxis override integrity, which is the same everywhere.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Thanks, interesting. Had not heard (herd?) that part.

The benefits of knowing peasants who used to own horses and now don't.

Although I can't imagine the meat is that good on the horses as they are worked pretty hard. That said, having cooked food provided by some of these suppliers the 'beef' was of very low quality. At the time we dismissed it as 'oh some old milker' but I am now mentally revising that assessment.