Stealth inflation....... booze gets watered down but better than eating donkey meat .....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-11/guest-post-more-stealth-inflation-maker%E2%80%99s-mark-slashes-alcohol-content
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/11/2013 14:45 -0500
and.....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-11/too-much-european-integration-romanian-donkey-meat-uk-beef-burgers
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/11/2013 09:18 -0500
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276403/Italian-Polish-mafia-gangs-blamed-horsemeat-scandal-government-warns-MORE-British-products-contaminated.html#axzz2KWPrEox0
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-11/guest-post-more-stealth-inflation-maker%E2%80%99s-mark-slashes-alcohol-content
Guest Post: More Stealth Inflation As Maker’s Mark Slashes Alcohol Content
Via Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
They just ain’t making Maker’s like they used to. According to the company, an apparent bourbon shortage has besieged the company leaving it no choice but to cut the alcohol content of their booze from 45% to 42%.
I’m sorry, but this excuse reeks of marketing spin. What manufacturer decides to dilute their product when they face high demand, rather than just raise the price by 3% and keep the quality intact? In a world wherehorse meat is increasingly finding its way into “all beef” product, where biotech salmon is soon to hit the streets and where Subway’s foot long sandwiches are less than 12 inches, I’d be willing to bet this is simply just another case of good old fashioned stealth inflation.
From the UK’s Daily Mail:
Distillers of a world famous bourbon has cut its alcohol content so it can meet increasing demand for the drink.The owners of Maker’s Mark, which is distilled Loretto, Kentucky, said they are unable to produce the bourbon fast enough.It announced that the bourbon – which used the slogan ‘It tastes expensive… and is’ – will drop its alcohol content by three per cent.It will now be reduced to 42 per cent ABV from 45 per cent.
Shame they couldn’t just dilute it with horse meat.
Full article here.
and.....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-11/too-much-european-integration-romanian-donkey-meat-uk-beef-burgers
Too Much European Integration? Romanian Donkey Meat In UK "Beef" Burgers
Thanks to a law banning horses from Romanian roads, the ever-enterprising and integrated European Union workers have apparently found a use for the millions of horses and donkeys that were slaughtered. In a bizarre report from The Independent, it appears 'donkey meat' has turned up on the shelves of British, French, and Swedish supermarket shelves (and no it doesn't taste like chicken or ass). The unintended consequence of the Romanian horse (and donkey) ban appears to follow a truly remarkable path from abattoirs in Romania (who must be busy) to a dealer in Cyprus (subcontracting for a Dutch dealer) to a meat plant in France which sold its frozen 'meat' onto a distributor in Luxembourg. French and British governments have forced the removal of the 'fake' beef from supermarket shelves as "a case of fraud and conspiracy against the public." Given last week's incredible footage from Greece, we suspect more than a few are willing to choke it down, as for now the British are pushing to ban meat imports.
A law banning horses from Romanian roads may be responsible for the surge in the fraudulent sale of horsemeat on the European beef market, a French politician said yesterday.Horse-drawn carts were a common form of transport for centuries in Romania, but hundreds of thousands of the animals are feared to have been sent to the abattoir after the change in road rules.The law, which was passed six years ago but only enforced recently, also banned carts drawn by donkeys, leading to speculation among food-industry officials in France that some of the “horse meat” which has turned up on supermarket shelves in Britain, France and Sweden may, in fact, turn out to be donkey meat. “Horses have been banned from Romanian roads and millions of animals have been sent to the slaughterhouse,” said Jose Bove, a veteran campaigner for small farmers who is now vice-president of the European Parliament agriculture committee.
After a couple of days in which the horse meat affair was seen as a largely British problem, the scandal began to be taken seriously by French politiciansand newspapers over the weekend....It came from abattoirs in Romania through a dealer in Cyprus working through another dealer in Holland to a meat plant in the south of France which sold it to a French-owned factory in Luxembourg which made it into frozen meals sold in supermarkets in 16 countries.Meanwhile, legal action over the horse meat scandal is to be mounted in Europe, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has said as he described the contamination of beef products as a case of fraud against the public.
Mr Paterson said the scandal appeared to be "extensive" across Europe but he repeated his rejection of calls for a ban on meat imports, saying that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice was that all products on sale are safe for consumption."This is a case of fraud and a conspiracy against the public, this is a criminal action, substituting one material for another," he told BBC Breakfast in answer to questioning aboutcalls for a ban on meat imports.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276403/Italian-Polish-mafia-gangs-blamed-horsemeat-scandal-government-warns-MORE-British-products-contaminated.html#axzz2KWPrEox0
Italian and Polish mafia gangs are blamed for horsemeat scandal as government warns MORE British products will be contaminated
- Experts say beef is substituted for horse as part of multimillion pound scams
- Environment secretary raises concerns of worldwide 'criminal conspiracy'
- Food officials are being intimidated by cartels to sign off products as beefs
- Testing is stepped up in Britain for horse DNA and results due within days
- Wild horses in Romania are being slaughtered and shipped to Britain as beef
- The animals suffer appalling cruelty, including being beaten with crowbars
|
Mafia gangs in Italy and Poland are being blamed for the horsemeat scandal amid fears that more cases of contamination could be revealed in Britain within days.
Experts in the horse slaughter industry believe the meat is ending up in lasagnes, burgers and other products being served at dinner tables across Britain as part of multimillion pound scams.
It has been claimed that the criminals use intimidation to get vets and other food production officials to approve the horsemeat and other cheaper alternatives, such as pork, as beef, which are then shipped around the world.
Global: European mafia gangs are thought to be behind horsemeat ending up in beef products
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson as also raised concerns that a worldwide criminal network is behind the scandal.
Europol, a European-wide agency tackling organised crime and terrorism, has been informed, while the Government is looking to bring in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.
The Metropolitan Police has already begun investigating and is said to be working with other forces on the continent.
Mr Paterson said: 'I'm concerned that this is an international criminal conspiracy here and we've really got to get to the bottom of it.'
His comments come just days after frozen foods company Findus UK revealed it had discovered horsemeat in its beef lasagne and has suggested it was deliberately contaminated.
The meat was supplied by French firm Comigel and is thought to have originated in Romania.
Authorities in the country are investigating whether an abattoir there was the source of the meat.
Global: Owen Paterson raised fears that a worldwide 'criminal conspiracy is behind the scandal'
It has also emerged that wild horses in Romania were slaughtered after suffering appalling cruelty, and there are fears that they were then shipped to Britain as beef products.
Investigators in the eastern European country have been searching sales records following the revelations that the stolen animals were mistreated on their way to abattoirs.
In one case, more than 50 horses were found inside a truck on its way to an abattoir in Saint Gheorghe, which is understood to have exported meat.
Four of the animals were dead and others were barely alive, having been beaten with crowbars and starved of food and water for 28 hours.
They are thought to have been caught from the Letea Forest in the Danube Delta, where thousands of wild horses roam.
A source close to the investigation told The Sun: 'The meat from this racket would almost certainly have been sent abroad and there's no telling where it would have wound up.
'You only have to look at the state of the poor animals to realise that the meat would have been of terrible quality and possibly unfit for human consumption.'
Testing of processed beef products, including those being supplied to hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons, was stepped up in Britain.
Results from the testing for horse DNA will be published by the Food Standards Authority on Friday.
Mr Paterson warned they could reveal further traces of horsemeat, but stressed there is no evidence that the scandal has become a public safety issue.
He said: 'There may well be more bad results coming through, that's the point of doing this random analysis.
Mr Paterson said retailers have agreed plans to improve their food testing, adding that they hold the 'ultimate responsibility' for making sure their products do not contain horse meat.
He was speaking after attending an emergency meeting with bosses from leading supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons, trade bodies and the FSA.
The scandal has seen chains Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland withdraw some products, and Mr Paterson said the industry has already begun plans to report test results on a quarterly basis.
He said it is down to retailers to visit manufacturers and make sure they stick to the proper protocols to be sure themselves that the materials going into their products are what they are meant to be.
They had also agreed that consumers should be compensated if they have bought withdrawn products with no questions asked, he said.
Mr Paterson added: 'It's a question of either gross incompetence, but as I've said publicly and I'll repeat again, I'm more concerned there's actually an international criminal conspiracy here, and we've really got to get to the bottom of it.
'If there's a criminal act we will work with the authorities wherever they are to ensure the appropriate measures are taken.
'This is a conspiracy against the public. Selling a product as beef, and including a lot of horse in it is fraud.'
Investigation: Authorities are investigating of Spanghero, at the centre of the horsemeat scandal
Asked if there were any plans to test for traces of other meats, such as dog, he replied: 'It may be very isolated, it might be a small number of suppliers involved in the horse trade we don't know.
'But I think that as we progress and we'll know more over the course of the next few weeks, we can decide what to do next.'
He also said a ban on importing meat would not be allowed within the rules of the EU but could be brought in if beef contaminated with horse meat is found to be a health risk.
Although no danger to humans has yet been found in eating the horsemeat so far detected, Mr Paterson said that if further tests find it does pose a risk he would 'take the necessary action'.
Initial findings: Horsemeat from Romania was sold to a meat plant in South-West France owned by French firm Spanghero, which then supplied Comigel
The FSA said there is no evidence to suggest the horsemeat is a food safety risk but confirmed that tests have been ordered on products for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone as animals treated with 'bute' are not allowed to enter the food chain.
Mr Paterson, appearing on BBC One's Sunday Politics show, said: 'This week obviously we'll be talking to counterparts across Europe, because ultimately this is European Union incompetence.'
But asked if there should be a moratorium on meat imports in the EU, he said: 'That is not allowed within the European common market.
'If they find there is a product which could potentially be injurious to public health, emphatically, I will take the necessary action.'
Asked if he would consider a ban if tests proved there was a food safety risk, he said: 'If there is a threat to public health that is allowed within the rules of the European market.'
Prime Minister David Cameron described the matter as 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable', while Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was 'appalling'.
He added: 'I think people in the country will be quite shocked that horsemeat has been in the food that they have been innocently buying. The Government has got to get a grip on this situation.'
The Trading Standards Institute has said the discovery of such high levels of horse meat suggests 'deliberate fraudulent activity'.
Not hungry: Food minister David Heath (left) turns down a Findus meal from MoS man Nick Constable
Food safety experts have said there is no risk to public health.
Findus said it carried out a full product recall on Monday, two days before DNA tests found that some of its lasagnes contained up to 100% horsemeat.
The firm, which has its headquarters in London, tested 18 of its beef lasagne products, made by French food supplier Comigel, and found that 11 contained in the range of 60% to 100% horse meat.
Comigel is supplied meat by Spanghero, also in France. Authorities in France have begun an urgent investigation into the two companies, and Findus is considering taking egal action against them
Food minister David Heath yesterday declined an offer from The Mail On Sunday of a Findus spaghetti bolognese ready meal.
Mr Heath had insisted ready meals were safe following the withdrawal of the company's lasagne but said it would be 'bad politics' to follow former Tory Agriculture Minister Mr Gummer’s attempt to win public trust at the height of the 1990 mad cow crisis.
Tesco and Aldi have also withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by Comigel over fears that they contained contaminated meat.
Infamous photo call: Mr Heath said he wouldn't be 'revisiting' the John Selwyn Gummer saga who was photographed eating a burger and feeding some to his daughter Cordelia, 4, in an attempt to win public trust at the height of the 1990 BSE crisis
The GMB union said all hospitals, schools and meals-on-wheels services should verify that horse meat had not been served to vulnerable people.
Responding to fears that school dinners might be contaminated with horse meat, the Department for Education said schools and councils were responsible for their food contracts.
A spokeswoman for the Local Authority Caterers Association said: 'We are as sure as we can be that this is not affecting the school catering area.'
She added that there were 'strict guidelines' around food safety and supplying dinners in schools, including transparency and traceability of ingredient provenance, written into contracts.
No comments:
Post a Comment