The UK food industry has agreed to report the results of its testing program to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), in the wake of the ongoing horse meat contamination incident.
This decision has been taken following a meeting between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the FSA, and representatives from the food industry.
It has been agreed that the industry will provide meaningful results from its testing program by 15 February. It has also been agreed that initial tests will focus on the areas of most concern, but that all products will be tested as part of the program and all results will be reported.
Defra and the FSA have asked for more authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beefburgers, meatballs and lasagne, and for industry to provide the results to the FSA.
In addition, the FSA and the food industry committed to work together to identify the best points in the supply chain to test as part of the ongoing program and to publish regular reports of test results.
In January, a study conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) revealed that beef burgers sold in several supermarkets chains in Ireland and the UK contained horse meat. Following this, the food authorities have begun an investigation to trace the source.
