Burger King Drops UK Supplier Implicated in Horsemeat Scandal
Burger King has reportedly dropped one of its suppliers after finding traces of horse DNA in beef provided for sale in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The restaurant chain apparently tested its own products in the wake of a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) investigation that allegedly found horse DNA in beef patties and meals linked to three processing plants, one of which apparently received its product from a Polish distributor.
“Our independent DNA tests results on product taken from Burger King® restaurants were negative for any equine DNA. However, four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA,” said a company statement on PR Newswire. “This product was never sold to our restaurants. Within the last 36 hours, we have established that Silvercrest used a small percentage of beef imported from a non-approved supplier in Poland. They promised to deliver 100% British & Irish beef patties and have not done so. This is a clear violation of our specifications, and we have terminated our relationship with them.” Additional details about the FSAI investigation appear in Issue 467 of this Update. See the Daily Mail and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, January 31, 2013.
