Scandal that shook the food industry to its core

THE 2013 scandal caused uproar when it emerged some food being sold in UK supermarkets as beef was horsemeat.

Horse and pig DNA was found in frozen beefburgers and lasagnes and readily passed to unsuspecting punters, as well as being served in schools.

A smaller number of products also contained other undeclared meats, such as pork. It sent shockwaves across the food industry and an independent inquiry to look into how the food arrived on the shelves was set up by the Government.

Heading it was Professor Chris Elliott, a long-time food safety specialist.

His scathing conclusions found there was a “huge incentive for the criminal to pursue food crime”.

Prof Elliott recommended that the Food Standards Agency established a national crime unit to protect the industry from organised gangs, who were “adulterating, tampering, stealing and counterfeiting” products within the supply chain.

It soon became a Europe-wide issue and in some cases, 100% of products were found to be horsemeat.

Aldi, Iceland, Lidl and Tesco were among the big names to withdraw products which tested positive.