Irish government knew of horsemeat burger scandal before Christmas

LOL @ some of the comments… Townies’ “jobs at Steak”... lurve it! And Scrivner’s post… brill! Angrypaddy’s comment is way off the mark… there’s no B/S in any burger but apparently lots in what he writes! Actually, there is no harm in horse meat or pig meat provided they’re not contaminated. Both are consumed as meats in their own right, horsemeat being leaner (less fat) than beef, a point in its favour and is as commonly eaten in some European countries as beef and pig meats are in Ireland.

First we had Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongieform Encephalitis BSE)). Then poltry started goin' bananas with Asian flu (Mad Chicken Disease MCD). Now we have a case of Species Identity Disorder (bovines who thought they were equines). It's like a nightmare from George Orwell's Animal Farm. Take my advice, go veggie. At least you won't go thalidomide, even with GM, as far as I know.

You have been listening to B/S so long now you ere eating it lol

In a country awash with clapped-out knackered racehorses and such, its wonderful to think that we had to import some to bulk up our burgers! Ellard was right to be cautious - 100,000 jobs at Steak!!

You only have to look at the collamedy with the "one of your five a day" or even best before. Any way all they have to say is that the beef in each burger is 100% beef. lol

In France they complain about beeef being in their horsemeat. Go figure.

I they sure it was not Donkey Meat. Isold Two Donkies to A Fine Gael T.D when I was Home in Cavan Last Year.

we havent a clue what goes into our food ,if people could see slaughter houses and methods of food production they would turn veggie.now we gm food put in to and we dont know what how or when or how much,not till we start growing mutated limbs.remember soylent green?

Looks to me like burgers were being beefed up with cheaper meat for economic reasons. Trying to discern what you're eating and/or drinking is challenging, in that typpe ingredients are printed in is usually so small, you'f need an electron micoscope to read it. Play it safe and go veggie!

Apparently Minister Coveney wasn't advised about this matter until monday, sharing the information with his cabinet colleagues that afternoon. it may have been prudent for someone at the department of agriculture to give him the 'heads up' about the investigation. Coveney is an intelligent guy, in my opinion one of the smartest at the Irish cabinet table and I hope he is not made a scapegoat over this.

Many mixers have meat grinder attachments. Grind your own beef and make your own burgers.Then you'll know what you're eating.

This is similar to the pink slime story that has been going on.

An earlier report said that there was 29% horsemeat in a sample of Tesco's burger. It is hard to believe that this huge amount is the "binder" that is used to hold the patty together, which is what this article alludes to. One other thing: There was no safety issue so there was no immediate reaction. However, there was no scientific evidence to say this.

The headline here may be a littlemisleading. While I accept that the Department of Agriculture is a government department, from what I have read of this matter, Coveney was only notified last friday and he informed his cabinet colleagues at their meeting on monday. If this is the correct chronology, whoever delayed informing the minister should suffer the consequences.Of course this is a civil servant in Ireland. The culture there dictates that no-one will face any consequences.