IKEA horse meat scandal: Czech authority detects horse meat in IKEA brand meat balls

[Nobody]

Article w/video
IKEA horse meat scandal: Czech authority detects horse meat in IKEA brand meat balls
Posted: 02/25/2013
Associated Press

PRAGUE (AP) -- The Czech veterinary authority says it has detected horse meat in meat balls labeled as beef and pork imported to the country by Sweden's furniture retailer giant Ikea.

Joey! It's what's for dinner... in Sweden! And Poland, and...

[Aractus]

Well it's a damn good thing that there's nothing wrong with horse meat and it's very good for you!

[KichigaiNeko]

I really can't fathom why this should be an issue....after the "Mad Cow" incidents many European countries are unable to use their beef let alone export it.

Only crime here I see is that the meat wasn't labelled properly.

[Autumnlicious]

The meat had a high possibility of being contaminated with a set of chemicals not fit for human consumption.

[jots]

The media is blowing this way out of proportion. I haven´t met a single person here in Sweden who doesn´t give the same response when asked what they feel about this story: "So?"

Only issue with this is, like KichigaiNeko said, that the labelling was wrong.

[Davka]

That's just how IKEA sells horses: Some Assembly Required.

[KichigaiNeko]

You could say that about ALL meat products Moros. Apologies, but I have not been following the news story so I haven't heard about the chemical contamination, only the mad cow disease issue.

[Tiberius]

The difference is, Kichi, that horses are not generally bred for food, and so the sources of the horsemeat were more likely to be horses which were old or had to be put down. Such horses are often given the painkiller phenylbutazone (bute) which is dangerous for humans in large doses. Cows that are bred for slaughter are not given these drugs.

This wasn't some case where good, healthy horsemeat was mixed up with beef. It is becoming clearer over the course of the investigation that this is the result of organised crime / corruption.

Source: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/February/Pag...afety.aspx

[KichigaiNeko]

Hmm. Like I said. Haven't been following the story. And my news feed hadn't divulged THAT little tid bit of info. Sounds bad.

[LastPoet]

Like Tibs pointed out its that drug used on horses. There is a market niche for horse meat (rightfully labeled), but its quite the bland quality meat, and usually unexpensive. That and the costs of growing a horse as livestock is quite unpractical, as you can grow a cow in a year and a half, while a horse takes 3-4 years.

The problem is that they were selling a bad product, possibly contaminated, but hey, once something is thrown into the meat grinder, its hard to tell them apart. To all regards, this investigation has been very well executed.