POLAND’S VETERINARY AUTHORITY has said it has not found any traces of equine DNA in samples taken from five companies which send beef products to Ireland.
Reuters quoted the country’s state news agency as saying authorities had tested five of the six suppliers who export beef products here, and had found no sign of horse meat or DNA in samples from any of those plants.
“All 14 samples coming from the five slaughterhouses showed negative results, which means that horse protein was not detected,” the deputy head of the Polish veterinary inspection Jaroslaw Naze told PAP.
Samples from the sixth plant have been tested with results due on Monday.
Tests carried out in Ireland following the original discovery of equine DNA in beef burgers produced here discerned that the equine DNA came from a Polish product used by the Silvercrest Foods plant in Co Monaghan.
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association this evening called on Silvercrest’s parent company, Larry Goodman’s ABP Food Group, to confirm that it had no reason to believe the source of the equine DNA was anywhere other than Poland.
“We need clarity on this issue as a matter of urgency,” ICSA president Gabriel Gilmartin said.
“I would call on ABP to issue a statement confirming that the source of the contaminated burger ingredients was in fact Silvercrest’s Polish supplier, and that it did not come from another, unknown, source.”
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