Horsemeat scandal sends shoppers back to butchers

7:41am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News

A packet of Findus lasagne A packet of Findus lasagne

BUTCHERS around North Yorkshire have experienced an increase in trade following the national horsemeat scandal, writes Lydia Winter.

Food inspectors haver found horsemeat in frozen burgers stocked by UK supermarket chains including Tesco, Iceland and Lidl.

Frozen food firm Findus last week recalled and destroyed thousands of beef lasagnes made by a French supplier, after some were found to contain up to 100 per cent horsemeat.

The scandal, which has affected countries around Europe, with processed food products being removed from shelves in Britain, France and Sweden, has seen shoppers move away from processed food and towards local butchers in some areas.

Melanie Wright, from Derek Fox Butchers in Malton, said the shop had seen an increase in trade, with more customers keen to ask about the product itself.

She said: “Many people are asking about the traceability of our produce, wanting to know where our meat comes from.”

Staff at Malton butchers Overton’s Quality said business had picked up over the weekend following the Findus announcement.

One employee, who did not wish to be named, said: “Many people were complaining about the horsemeat scandal.

“They say that they will not be using supermarket meat again – but I suspect that is just talk. These stories are good for us and will hopefully get people back into high street butcher’s shops.”

Elsewhere, Tony Neary’s Butchers in York said they had experienced a slight increase in trade, especially for cheaper end cuts of meat.

Early indications are that the contaminated meat came from Romania.


Call for better labelling

The National Beef Association (NBA) yesterday called for more precise labelling of products in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

It said farmers and consumers were badly let down by the “murky” side of the processing industry which “routinely substituted beef with cheap, unregulated horsemeat”.

The organisation suggested all UK beef should be labelled with the words “United Kingdom origin” printed on its packaging.

Chris Mallon, national director of the NBA, urged consumers to prevent “further cheating” by suppliers by ensuring the beef they purchased was taken exclusively from cattle born, reared and processed in the UK.

He said British farmers ensured the provenance of cattle produced inside the UK was “second to none”.

He said: “The integrity of their product contrasts hugely with the horsemeat that has infiltrated the domestic food chain as a result of careless, or unscrupulous, actions undertaken by participants in a supply chain which is understood to cover companies in Poland, Luxembourg, Romania, France and the Republic of Ireland.”

Comments(30)

Rich Picking says...
8:31am Tue 12 Feb 13

Its a pity that it takes something like this to drive shoppers back to the local butchers. The meat sold by them is far superior and tastes so much better. More often than not it is actually a little cheaper than the supermarket horse meat. Lets support our local butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers !!! Taste the Difference

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capt spaulding says...
8:43am Tue 12 Feb 13

Well said, it does make me wonder whats in a fish finger ? Fish perhaps ?

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hokey cokey says...
8:47am Tue 12 Feb 13

By buying from the local butcher you are also supporting the local farmers and slaughterhouses that supply the meat. There are also less road miles attached to your joint unlike the horse burger that has been roaded from Romania to France to be processed than roaded to Luxembourg to be put in to a pie then roaded to the UK for onward distribution to your out of town supermarket!
I would recommend Wilsons of Huntington and M&K on Bishy Road both are superb butchers!!

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Guy Fawkes says...
8:58am Tue 12 Feb 13

Local shops are all well and good, but there are two big problems with using them. The first is parking - in York, it's very difficult and very expensive. At the ring road supermarkets, it's easy, plentiful and free. The second is time. I don't get back from work until around 8pm on most nights, and at that time the ring road supermarkets are the only places open. If the local shops wanted to claw trade back from the supermarket giants, they'd do what typical independents shops in Main Street USA do, which is to open from 6am-10pm on most weekdays, so that people can use them before and after work.

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roskoboskovic says...
9:06am Tue 12 Feb 13

yes,it s easy to gloss over the reasons why people don t use these local butchers,preferring instead to shop at supermarkets.the reason is price and if they want to keep some of this increase in trade,though i suspect that it is minimal anyway,then they have to get more competetive.

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MrsHoney says...
9:20am Tue 12 Feb 13

I know people shouldn't expect to find horsemeat in their mince but they surely wouldn't expect it to be top class minced beef in these rubbishy ready meals. I wouldn't touch something like that with a barge pole, I'm more surprised that they actually found any meat in it at all!!
As for using a local butchers, I'm sure most people would love to but, like us, they shop after work when the butchers is closed. I don't really want to spend my weekends grocery shopping.

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notmyrealname says...
9:22am Tue 12 Feb 13

Why does anyone need to eat meat from Rumania when the best butcher you could ever wish for is in Bishy Road ....
Supermarkets ... stick to groceries ...

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susanann says...
9:39am Tue 12 Feb 13

I cannot understand why we import meat from other countries when our farmers are struggling to make ends meet at least you know if you buy british beef it is BEEF and not horsemeat .

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Madasanibbotson says...
9:42am Tue 12 Feb 13

Surely people going back to butchers is down to JA. Missed Photo Op JA (unless you are in the South of France or Paris on expenses).

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Big Bad Wolf says...
9:52am Tue 12 Feb 13

capt spaulding wrote:
Well said, it does make me wonder whats in a fish finger ? Fish perhaps ?
Sea Horses?

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YorkPatrol says...
10:15am Tue 12 Feb 13

I'm not sure you can get Ready Meal's or Lasagne from your local butchers...

It's only the processed meats that are effected so may as well stick to Tesco's as they have a great fresh meat section

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pedalling paul says...
10:31am Tue 12 Feb 13

Guy Fawkes wrote:
Local shops are all well and good, but there are two big problems with using them. The first is parking - in York, it's very difficult and very expensive. At the ring road supermarkets, it's easy, plentiful and free. The second is time. I don't get back from work until around 8pm on most nights, and at that time the ring road supermarkets are the only places open. If the local shops wanted to claw trade back from the supermarket giants, they'd do what typical independents shops in Main Street USA do, which is to open from 6am-10pm on most weekdays, so that people can use them before and after work.
I can quickly pedal to my local butcher and put a couple of pork chops and a pound of mince into my front basket.....

If you base your lifestyle decisions eg where to live and work, around car ownership and use, then you only have yourself to blame if you can't do likewise.

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yorkiemum says...
10:34am Tue 12 Feb 13

pedalling paul wrote:
Guy Fawkes wrote:
Local shops are all well and good, but there are two big problems with using them. The first is parking - in York, it's very difficult and very expensive. At the ring road supermarkets, it's easy, plentiful and free. The second is time. I don't get back from work until around 8pm on most nights, and at that time the ring road supermarkets are the only places open. If the local shops wanted to claw trade back from the supermarket giants, they'd do what typical independents shops in Main Street USA do, which is to open from 6am-10pm on most weekdays, so that people can use them before and after work.
I can quickly pedal to my local butcher and put a couple of pork chops and a pound of mince into my front basket.....

If you base your lifestyle decisions eg where to live and work, around car ownership and use, then you only have yourself to blame if you can't do likewise.
That's because Paul you are retired and don't have the commitments we ordinary souls have.

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Rich Picking says...
10:37am Tue 12 Feb 13

Tescos, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons have meat sections and yes they are open 24 hours but just how long has the meat been sat there either in its plastic packet or under the glass counter next to the fish section. How long has it been in transit to get to the supermarket in the first place.
If you want fresh good quality meat then use your butcher. I too work long and hard hours with a 50 minute commute to and from work however I find time to shop for the things I want to eat from a source that I can trust. I wonder what will be found in the pepperami !!!

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
11:24am Tue 12 Feb 13

Bad news for supermarkets but even worse for the horse-eaters at the Tower of London.

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heworth.28 says...
11:53am Tue 12 Feb 13

roskoboskovic wrote:
yes,it s easy to gloss over the reasons why people don t use these local butchers,preferring instead to shop at supermarkets.the reason is price and if they want to keep some of this increase in trade,though i suspect that it is minimal anyway,then they have to get more competetive.
The small local butcher's shop can't take advantage of economies of scale & globalisation, nor do they have the buying power of supermarkets whose turnovers are measured in hundreds of millions. The ongoing idea that something can only be good value if it's dirt cheap is incredibly wrong-headed

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YorkPatrol says...
12:03pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Rich Picking wrote:
Tescos, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons have meat sections and yes they are open 24 hours but just how long has the meat been sat there either in its plastic packet or under the glass counter next to the fish section. How long has it been in transit to get to the supermarket in the first place. If you want fresh good quality meat then use your butcher. I too work long and hard hours with a 50 minute commute to and from work however I find time to shop for the things I want to eat from a source that I can trust. I wonder what will be found in the pepperami !!!
What nonsence

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Kathy 2010 says...
12:55pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Another option is to give up meat altogether. I have done this and definitely feel much healthier, although I stopped eating it for ethical reasons (and no I am not trying to insist that everyone becomes vegetarian before people decide to try to shoot me down, although it would be wonderful in an ideal world, in my humble opinion). I eat various types of Quorn quite often which is a meat substitute and, admittedly, on its own some of it does not have a great deal of flavour but when served with a nice sauce it is delicious. For all the people concerned with their weight, it is also lower in calories and fat than meat is so could be worth a try.

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Buzz Light-year says...
12:56pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Everyone who buys buys meat from supermarkets should be made to visit intensive factory farming establishments and see what goes on there. If they're still happy with the cost/ convenience vs provenance then cool.

I never buy meat from supermarkets not even from their "in-store butchers"

There's no need to have meat every day and it's easy enough to make the time to call in to a butcher's shop when you do want it.

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A N Archist says...
1:02pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Like I've always said about the repetitive advertising of food corporates. Nag, nag, nag, nag until in the end you buy their rubbish.

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capt spaulding says...
1:19pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Big Bad Wolf wrote:
capt spaulding wrote:
Well said, it does make me wonder whats in a fish finger ? Fish perhaps ?
Sea Horses?
Thanks big bad that made me laugh out loud.

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MarkyMarkMark says...
1:36pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Sounds like good old fashioned horse sense to me.

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alfie says...
1:54pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Buzz Light-year wrote:
Everyone who buys buys meat from supermarkets should be made to visit intensive factory farming establishments and see what goes on there. If they're still happy with the cost/ convenience vs provenance then cool.

I never buy meat from supermarkets not even from their "in-store butchers"

There's no need to have meat every day and it's easy enough to make the time to call in to a butcher's shop when you do want it.
Totally agree : )

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The Watchful one says...
3:17pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Why has the 'scandal' sent shoppers back to the butchers and not to the nearest fruit and veg retailer????

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Rich Picking says...
3:18pm Tue 12 Feb 13

YorkPatrol wrote:
Rich Picking wrote:
Tescos, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons have meat sections and yes they are open 24 hours but just how long has the meat been sat there either in its plastic packet or under the glass counter next to the fish section. How long has it been in transit to get to the supermarket in the first place. If you want fresh good quality meat then use your butcher. I too work long and hard hours with a 50 minute commute to and from work however I find time to shop for the things I want to eat from a source that I can trust. I wonder what will be found in the pepperami !!!
What nonsence
Nonsense York Patrol erm I dont think so , I bet you do your food shop omline and have it de liver ed (hahaha do u like what I did there) York Pet rol hahaha we could market that !!

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Pete the Brickie says...
3:52pm Tue 12 Feb 13

It won't be long before the horses tethered at the side of the A166 will be totally worthless now the supermarkets have been banned from exporting them to Romania and cooking them with pasta. I'm worried that once their owners realise and abandon them to death by Transit and free collection and disposal by the council anything that moos or has horns will take on the same value as a catalyst convertor to them with butchers becoming the new second hand metal dealers.

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Rosieposie says...
11:33pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Since I found a pigs eyelid in a sausage at Kings Colege Hospital , ironically just after I had been saying how good hospital sausages were to a New Zealander,I hav won't touched what I call un identifiable meat..so despite BSE etc by insisting on knowing where your food comes from is best.
I do not buy anything produced in china either, soy sauce is Japanese or nothing. Call me fussy but hey.

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hikerman says...
7:57am Wed 13 Feb 13

You would not go to a butcher to buy ready meals only supermarkets butchers fresh meat is the best and it would not be horse meat if it was they would not be in the trade very long.

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Magicman! says...
12:57am Thu 14 Feb 13

"They won't Findus in here" said the horses..... but they were wrong.

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Kelvar says...
6:07pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Goodness me! All this 'fuss' over a bit of horse meat! Don't ANY of you remember the 'Knackers Yard' in Huntington! We used to go there every week to get meat for us, and for the dogs to eat! I've eaten Horse meat, it won't kill you!

Bute is short for phenylbutazone. It was used to treat some types of human arthritis in the UK.

As for 'Bute' found in "beef" burgers, do you know how many burgers you would have to eat to get the equivalent of a human dose?

Quote: "If you ate 100-percent horse burgers of 250 grams, you would have to eat, in one day, more than 500 or 600 to get to a human dose, It would really be difficult to get up to a human dose."

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