Photo: Ponsulak [FreeDigitalPhotos.net]“ Alberto Gómez is Coordinator of the Department of Quality and Food Safety at Bureau Veritas University Center. He is also a Professor of the Master in Food Safety Management .”
For several months now, a problem with horse meat in meat products has been detected in the process of controlling and identifying food products , creating a social alarm. The problem lies in the detection of horse meat not declared in the list of ingredients that appears on the packaging or on the label of packaged food products. It has also been detected that the name of some of these food products or the list of their ingredients misleadingly mention that they only contain beef.
On 21 February 2013, the Recommendation on the coordinated chinese america data control plan to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the trade of certain products was published in the OJEU.
The coordinated plan addresses two actions: on the one hand, the detection of equine DNA in meat products labelled or marketed as beef preparations and on the other, the control of horse meat intended for human consumption.
The first is intended to detect possible consumer fraud by incorporating horse meat into beef preparations without indicating this on the label. To do this, analyses will be carried out to detect equine DNA based on the criteria established in the Recommendation. In this case, Spain will take a total of 150 samples taken in retail establishments (supermarkets, neighbourhood shops, butchers) although they may also be extended to other establishments such as cold stores, which will be analysed in the laboratories designated for this purpose.
The second action is intended to detect the possible presence of phenylbutazone residues in horse meat . Samples must be taken in establishments where this type of product is handled or received, such as slaughterhouses and border inspection posts. It is recommended to take a minimum of 1 sample for every 50 tonnes of product, with a minimum of 5 samples per Member State. In this case, Spain will take 115 samples distributed by Autonomous Communities based on their respective productions, which will be analysed in the laboratory designated for this purpose.