Burger King admits it has been selling beef burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat

[MutteringJohn]

Burger King has tonight admitted that it has been selling burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat despite two weeks of denials.The fast food chain, which has more than 500 UK outlets, had earlier given a series of ‘absolute assurances’ that its products were not involved.However, new tests have revealed these guarantees were incorrect in a revelation that threatens to destroy the trust of customers.
It also raises serious questions about whether the food company, which sells around one million burgers a week in the UK, has any good idea about what goes into its products.The contaminated burgers were made by the Irish-based processing company, Silvercrest, which is part the ABP Foods Group.
The same company also made tainted burgers for Tesco, Asda and the Co-op, among others.Burger King has faced allegations of orchestrating a cover-up of its links to the horsemeat scandal in order to give it time to find an alternative supplier.It is currently shipping in tens of thousands of burgers from suppliers in Germany and Italy in order to meet demand at its UK outlets.It is known that the management at Silvercrest has been using a series of non-approved ingredients in their burgers for a range of household name brands.These included meat off-cuts, including horse, that were imported in large frozen blocks from Poland.The contamination has been going on since at least last May and potentially for up to one year, according to evidence presented to MPs earlier this week.Tonight Burger King abandoned its earlier denials, saying: ‘Four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA.


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 100per cent 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. ‘Through our investigation, we have confirmed that this non-approved Polish supplier is the same company identified by the Irish Department of Agriculture as the source of Silvercrest’s contamination issue.’'We are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100per cent beef burgers.'

- Burger King vice president
The contamination scandal was first triggered two weeks ago, with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland revealed it had found horse meat in burgers sold in Ireland and the UK.When the news first emerged, Burger King said it had been given an ‘absolute assurance’ by its supplier that its products were not involved.Yesterday, Burger King vice president, Diego Beamonte, said: ‘We are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100per cent beef burgers.‘Our supplier has failed us and in turn we have failed you. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again.’
He added: ‘We will dedicate ourselves to determining what lessons can be learned and what additional measures, including DNA testing and enhanced traceability controls, can be taken to ensure that we continue to provide you with the quality products you expect from us.’Jeanette Longfield, of the campaigning food and health group, Sustain, has condemned Burger King’s handling of the problem.

[username]

NOoooooo


Is Beth ok?
Or did we eat her?

[AcquiringSignal]

When will Hein address this?

[Rodney21a]

When will Hein address this?

Hey may mention this but it's this is about the United Kingdom and a supplier there.

[newcastlefan]

seriously, BK should be closed for that. there are few things worse than knowingly selling adulterated meat products. not that i eat BK or McDs anymore, but if i did i would be puking now.

[pontius pilot]

they should send the remaining meat to france. the froggies eat horse meat already.

[chuk]

Is eating a horse worse than eating a cow?

[rilagent]

NOoooooo


Is Beth ok?
Or did we eat her?

Damn you, I was just going to post this.

[StRyDeRxX]

[pontius pilot]

Is eating a horse worse than eating a cow?

yes, it is worse. there is a natural hierarchy within the animal kingdom--and some animals are superior to others (intelligence, service, loyalty, etc).

i don't eat any meat other than poultry and seafood for said reason (a personal choice, others are of course free to eat whatever they want).

relativism is mere sophism when it comes to such matters.

[pheelios]

It's like the 1970's and Jack in the Box all over again, ut oh

[BudBudha]

Is eating a horse worse than eating a cow?

I've eaten it overseas and thought it was just fine. It's the emotional connection to the animal that helped the horsey people successfully lobby Congress to end horse slaughter in 2007.

Now rather than exporting horsemeat to Europe, horses are abandoned or starve to death due to high feed prices or are bought at local auctions for $100 and trucked to Mexico for slaughter.

[StRyDeRxX]

yes, it is worse. there is a natural hierarchy within the animal kingdom--and some animals are superior than others (intelligence, service, loyalty, etc).

i don't eat any meat other than poultry and seafood for said reason.

relativism is mere sophism when it comes to such matters.

j/k

[pontius pilot]

j/k

ha ha ha ha aha ha ha!

i kinda asked for it.....

[Mr Doodle]

Honestly its not a big deal. I remember when they banned the consumption of horsemeat in America around 2007 it wasnt even a media story because no one cared. All the horses put down since then are illegal to eat even though many people could have used the meat. People don't raise horses for human consumption, its too expensive an enterprise since horses are more expensive than cattle and are less easily sold as meat since horse meat isnt hugely popular.

[pontius pilot]

Honestly its not a big deal. I remember when they banned the consumption of horsemeat in America around 2007 it wasnt even a media story because no one cared. All the horses put down since then are illegal to eat even though many people could have used the meat. People don't raise horses for human consumption, its too expensive an enterprise since horses are more expensive than cattle and are less easily sold as meat since horse meat isnt hugely popular.

i wouldn't eat horse, but it shouldn't be illegal.

[StRyDeRxX]

Now that I think about it wasn't Burger King involved with a similar scandal involving Kangaroo meat back in the late 80's?

[MutteringJohn]

Beth is relieved over this because this finally solves the mystery of what happened to her grandfather.

[Greekfreak]

yes, it is worse. there is a natural hierarchy within the animal kingdom--and some animals are superior to others (intelligence, service, loyalty, etc).

i don't eat any meat other than poultry and seafood for said reason (a personal choice, others are of course free to eat whatever they want).

relativism is mere sophism when it comes to such matters.

Malakia. I have eaten most things on this earth that have walked on their own power. However I was in full control of my senses every time, and hopefully wasn't duped into thinking I was eating something different than what I was told.

In this case, BK is up for a serious lawsuit.

[pontius pilot]

Malakia. I have eaten most things on this earth that have walked on their own power. However I was in full control of my senses every time, and hopefully wasn't duped into thinking I was eating something different than what I was told.

In this case, BK is up for a serious lawsuit.

good for you. eat a dog and monkey while you're at it. i could care less.