In the wake of the Tesco ‘Horse Burger’ scandal – how would you feel knowing that you’d eaten a bit of horse along with the advertised cow?

Would you be bothered if it tasted ok?

Personally I feel it’s a major breach of our democratic rights not to be told the full ingredients of a product or to be deliberately misled. The fact that it was horse makes not a jot of difference to me. We regularly eat lambs, cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits and it’s only a short trip across the Channel to a hypermarché where cheval sits alongside what we would call traditional meats.

Horse is eaten on a massive scale worldwide with over 5 million beasts being slaughtered for consumption each year; it seems only to be taboo in UK and only in recent years. Horse meat was regularly eaten in England as late as the 1930’s.

IMO the scandal is not that horse has been eaten but that we were not told it was horse in the first place.

I've eaten them for years, helps me keep a stable diet.

When I come across an eatery in France where they serve horse, I'll be interested in trying it.

It's a cultural thing about what animals we consider apt for food and not, and that's okay. It varies, as you touch on.

What has happened won't kill anyone, but that's not the point. The horse aspect is interesting, but there was far more examples of pif DNA found in tested beef products than horse.

We seen to be talking about quite large scale contamination. Perhaps it's the only way to produce ever cheaper meat products?

But it is, at the very minimum, a con. If you buy a product and it says on the packet that it contains X, Y and Z, it would seem that you have a fair right to expect that that is what it contains – no more and no less.

Anyway, if anyone's remotely interested, rlmy rather more extended thoughts are here.rl

Took this in Bordeaux last year.



I've eaten horse in France. They are farmed (so cant see the problem)the meat is very very nice and very good for you.

Obviously the issue here is that it isnt listed in the ingredients which is obviously wrong, but If i remember horse is quite expensive so I'm suprised it has been used.

Lovely stuff

Mustn't....laugh....

If it says 100% beef then it really should be 100% beef. I wouldn't be too bothered personally if I'd have eaten it. I've probably eaten horse before without realising it, especially abroad. I don't see why the issue should have been brought up in Parliament today either. TESCO should say 'sorry this has happened but get over it'.

I have eaten horse meat and quite like it BUT The reason you should be worried is that someone did it illegally.

That means that it came into the food chain from non official channels and maybe was from just ordinary nags down the road.

All horses in this country have to have a pet passport which details the medication they have particularly to deal with worms. Any horses treated with some of the worm medications are deemed not for human consumption.

These medications which can build up in horse flesh are very dangerous for human consumption.

It is not the issue of eating horse it is a genuine food safety issue.

You would not eat shellfish from areas where there is heavy metal pollution you would not want tgo eat horse meat that may have had some of the medications they give to horses.

If you eat sausages or burgers regularly you've probably ingested plenty of stuff you would, given the choice, rather avoid.

I suspect I've bought cheap Tesco burgers once or twice over the last few years for barbeques, but generally I like to spend a little more or get meat from the market. Does eating horse meat bother me? Not at all.


Good blog.

The first thing I said to the Mrs was, this is either someone simply being a chancer, or someone being squeezed so tightly by the supermarkets they've adopted desperate measures.

Yeah it's funny what we think about food.

I've had carpaccio of horse meat in Italy as well as horse meat Salami.

I have eaten things like insects, locusts, grubs, kangaroo, snake and crocodile.

If someone offered my cat or dog in a country that it was part of their normal diet in. I'd accept it. Would others try a bit of what we think of as pet?

I'm similar, not squeamish in the slightest and have eaten snails and frogs legs and all kinds of unusual things, but I don't think I'd eat dog. Not for any reason other than I grew up with dogs about and eating one would just seem a bit wrong. A bit like I bet not many Jockeys would eat horsemeat for example?

edit

I doubt you'd find a burger anywhere describing itself as 100% beef, let alone a supermarket "value" burger.

As to horsemeat, I've enjoyed horse steak tartare in Belgium

Just been to the fridge to check the date on my Tesco burgers.........................aaaaaaaaaaaand they're off!!!!

interesting that this thread is directed only at Tesco when at least 2 other shops were also caught up in this issue, seems the Tesco knives are out again.