Beef burgers found to contain horsemeat NOW READY MEALS 100% horsemeat

[SuburbanFarmChic]

What gets me is that now that 10mil burgers will probably be tossed. Not even used for dog food, just condemned to the waste heap. That shows our real value for commercial animals and how they are processed.


I value knowing exactly what is in our meat so we butcher our own sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, etc. But I could fill our freezers over and over and over again out of what I pull out of dumpsters for the dogs to eat.
Shocking.

Wanna go dumpster diving?

Somehow I don't think they'll let us sneak it onto a plane back from the UK. Otherwise... TOTALLY.

 

[Royd Wood]

Heres the latest
Beef lasagne Ready meals upto 100% horsemeat
Please dont comment on eating horsemeat or not - Comments most welcome on the state of the global food industry and the criminal side of it. Does this happen in North America or is it exclusive to Europe
Please read (sorry straw its from yahoo)
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/findus-lasagne-meals-were-100-horsemeat-192844335.html

 

[Pearce Pastures]

That is deplorable! Are they seeking charges against these manufacturers? I would imagine so.

If does make you wonder about our foods....

 

[Royd Wood]

Heres the latest
Beef lasagne Ready meals upto 100% horsemeat
Please dont comment on eating horsemeat or not - Comments most welcome on the state of the global food industry and the criminal side of it. Does this happen in North America or is it exclusive to Europe
Please read (sorry straw its from yahoo)
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/findus-lasagne-meals-were-100-horsemeat-192844335.html

School meals and hospital food now join the ever growing list of beef meals secretly containing horsemeat low % upto 100% - also horsemeat in France contaminated with bute

 

[goatboy1973]

We have a local family owned slaughter house near our farm and they process anything from cattle, goats, and pigs, to wildlife like Elk, wild Boar, and deer. I had them process 2 yearling Spanish/ Genemaster cross goats for me that I wouldn't sell as breeding stock because they were inferior quality compared to what I am known for producing but still had a great amt. of meat. I had never eaten fresh goat meat before except for shredded goat smothered in BBQ sauce at a goat producers seminar. I certainly had never cooked any before. It feels like a sense of accomplishment to know that this animal was born on your farm, raised by you, and then slaughtered and used to feed your family. You know what chemicals and/ or antibiotics (if any) were given this animal that you are consuming. Some of you may think this is weird or demented, but this is how I was raised and am continuing this tradition.

 

[Kitsara]

I think the only problem I would have with eating horse, would be how much in the way of drugs has been pumped into them?

 

[MDres]

I think the only problem I would have with eating horse, would be how much in the way of drugs has been pumped into them?

That's my issue, also. There are no withdrawal periods established for the thousands of medications and supplements that horses can receive. So a horse can be shot full of all sorts of meds one day (and eating other meds...), and going thru the slaughter line the next. Definitely NOT something I want to eat!

People today freak out about food animals being feed GMO feeds, or antibiotics, or this-or-that, but I have NEVER heard anyone discuss the crap that horsemeat probably contains. Not sure why the double standard. People need to drop the "ooo, you can't eat it because it is a horse" argument and instead focus on WHAT other humans are eating via cheval. *That* should be the issue that ends slaughter.

I think if horses were required to be kept at a feedlot type facility for a minimum of 90-days before going thru the kill line, I would be much more comfortable with humans eating them. Would I eat one? Doubtful, unless I absolutely had to...

Horses have A LOT of meat on them. They are actually BETTER (more efficient) at converting grain/concentrates to muscle than cattle are. They could be an extremely economical source of meat if there was a system in place to handle and process them properly. There are other beneficial financial aspects to a horse "feedlot", too...

 

[goatboy1973]

I might get yelled at here, but me too! I often have wondered why we don't eat horse here? All I can come up with is that people see them too much like pets, along with cats and dogs (which my friends from Guam say are very common dishes there, no icky connotation attached-kind of like I have pet chickens but still eat chicken). Maybe there is something more to it but if I ever have the chance to try it, I am in for a taste test.

I do think we should be aware of what we are eating though and calling something beef that isn't is wrong.

Me too!

 

[greybeard]

That's my issue, also. There are no withdrawal periods established for the thousands of medications and supplements that horses can receive. So a horse can be shot full of all sorts of meds one day (and eating other meds...), and going thru the slaughter line the next. Definitely NOT something I want to eat!

People today freak out about food animals being feed GMO feeds, or antibiotics, or this-or-that, but I have NEVER heard anyone discuss the crap that horsemeat probably contains. Not sure why the double standard. People need to drop the "ooo, you can't eat it because it is a horse" argument and instead focus on WHAT other humans are eating via cheval. *That* should be the issue that ends slaughter.

I think if horses were required to be kept at a feedlot type facility for a minimum of 90-days before going thru the kill line, I would be much more comfortable with humans eating them. Would I eat one? Doubtful, unless I absolutely had to...

Horses have A LOT of meat on them. They are actually BETTER (more efficient) at converting grain/concentrates to muscle than cattle are. They could be an extremely economical source of meat if there was a system in place to handle and process them properly. There are other beneficial financial aspects to a horse "feedlot", too...

Not exactly correct. There are regulations on some of the drugs, and it varies from state to state.
New Mexico's attorney general for instance, ruled last year that veterinary drugs commonly administered to horses would render their meat adulterated under state law, meaning it would not be fit for human consumption. The most common drug they worried about was PBZ (phenylbutzone), a non steroidal ainti-inflamatory drug (NSAID). It was tried as a treatment for human gout, rheumatoid arthritis and other reumatic disoders in the early 50s until it was found to cause adverse reactions, most commonly bone marrow toxicity and liver hypersensitivity which is most often fatal. It was withdrawn from use in humans shortly after these findings. The FDA currently has no set safe level for PBZ in human treatment, thus making it a non-allowed drug for the most part in regards to human use in any form. PBZ is found in strong concentrations in the blood, liver, heart, kidney and lungs of horses for as long as 4 years after initial injection according to a 2009 study done by Tufts Univ School of Veterinary Medicine, with mst of it in the blood. Also in muscle tissue to a lesser degree, but since there is no way to 100% remove all blood from the meat, it is very likely that processed meat from PBZ exposed horses will have PBZ in it. Remember--FDA says "no safe level" for human use.

There was no direct federal US ban on horsemeat processing plants. In 2007, Congress refused to appropriate any funding for horsemeat inspections by USDA and directed USDA to not spend any of their funding for such a purpose. Since all meat has to be inspected before sale to the public, this resulted in a de facto ban on horsemeat processing for human consumption. The legislation was in each year's omnibus package up unti 2011, when it was dropped, and that is when the window for new processing opened, tho I do understand, that the wording is again in the finally passed 2014 federal budget.
Individual States tho, have enacted outright bans on the equine slaughterhouses, but I do not know which or how many.

 

[MDres]

Bute is EXTREMELY common in horses. Orally and injected. And there is no way to track if/when it was given prior to slaughter because there is no accountability. Most livestock producers are aware of withdrawal periods and drugs, and try to abide by them. Not the same in horses... Lots of owners have no clue, and lots just don't give a darn.

I am not solely concerned about bute usage. The equine industry has developed TONS of other pharmaceutical treatments, drugs and medications. There are supplements out the wazoo that many racehorses receive. "Retired" racehorses often enter the slaughter chain. I have no idea how familiar you are with horses, and more specifically, the world of horse competitions of any variety. Many of those horses receive supplements daily - for skin, hooves, shiny coats, joints, calming, cycling, etc. There may be a *few* withdrawal periods established for a *few* medications, but 99% of the things "put into" horses have no human safety trials or withdrawal periods. I 100% stand by my statement that a horse can be receiving them one day and be slaughter bound the next. That is why I would never eat horsemeat produced via the current system.