Horse Meat Fraud Conspirators Sentenced

Three men have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in a
conspiracy to sell at least 30 metric tons of horse meat as beef.
The owner of a Danish supplier was sentenced to 3.5 years, while
the company’s accountant received a suspended sentence. In
addition, the owner of a London meat processor was given a 4.5-
year sentence.

The fraud was discovered in 2013, when the Food Safety Authority
of Ireland found horse meat in a shipment detained for inspection
in Northern Ireland. According to The Guardian, inspectors found
microchips for three horses previously owned as pets or riding
horses. The scheme reportedly may have involved as many as
50,000 horses from across Europe. Additional details about the
scheme appear in Issues 560 and 641 of this Update.

Issue 643