PEOPLE WHO HAVE a Findus frozen beef lasagne in their freezer are being advised not to eat the product, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said this morning.

It is currently investigating whether this particular frozen lasagne is sold in Ireland after the product sold in the UK was found to contain at least 60 per cent equine meat.

It was revealed last night that the horse content in some of the Findus frozen beef lasagnes contained upward of 90 per cent horse meat or more.

Martin McAdam

Meanwhile, meat broker Martin McAdam, whose business was investigated by the gardaí and Department of Agriculture officials, has said he is total innocent in the horse meat scandal, and is still reeling at the news that some of his products contained equine meat.

Speaking to Barry Cummins on RTÉ’s Prime Time last night, he said: “I am totally innocent in this saga.”

I’m a meat broker, I import product from the EU.

I have never seen or handled equine product, my company only deals in beef and pork.

McAdam said he had “no explanation for why horse DNA could appear in a product”, adding he doesn’t understand it. He also expressed sympathy for those affected by the scandal.

The Food Safety Authority first visited McAdam on Friday 1 February, around the same time that McAdam’s mother passed away. The following Tuesday morning, four gardaí and Dept of Agriculture officials arrived at his door. McAdam printed off emails, invoices, trade documents and transport invoices for them, which he said “all show that my full dealing from start of transaction to end of transaction they all stated it was beef”.

He added:

I agree there is something going on.

I believe the source of the problem is in Poland and I think it is extremely organised, a very sophisticated system.

According to McAdam, the companies he dealt with had EU approval for beef and he was targeting factories that had higher than average standards in Poland.

Read: Findus beef lasagne meals may have contained 100pc horse meat>