Tests have revealed that 'raw material' supplied to an Irish processing plant, which made burgers for Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Iceland, contained as much as 20 percent horse DNA¹, the Irish Government said.

 

Around 10million beef burgers have been withdrawn² from sale by supermarkets, and other smaller retailers³ in the UK, since the scandal, which centred around the Silvercrest factory, in County Monaghan, broke earlier this month.

 

Customers and food standards experts were left reeling after tests by the Foods Safety Authority of Ireland revealed burgers supplied to Tesco – Britain's biggest supermarket chain - contained 29.1 percent horse DNA.

 

Burger King also stopped using Silvercrest's products, although there was no horsemeat found in burgers sold by the fast food chain. 

 

Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine⁴, said the latest tests were a 'major breakthrough' in their investigation⁵ to identify the source of the contaminated products.

 

He had initially⁶ suggested imported ingredients from Spain and the Netherlands were to blame, but yesterday revealed the 'likely' source was an unnamed factory in the eastern European country.

 

Mr Coveney said the raw material was made from 'low value' cuts of meat. 

 

'It's fat cuts, trims, de-sinewed meats,' Mr Coveney said. 'There was equine（马的） DNA, which is horsemeat, in the product.

 

'There is no evidence to suggest that anyone knowingly imported product that had horse DNA in it, but clearly that is what happened.'

 

The minister said the ABP Food Group, which owns the plant, had now agreed to source meat only from the UK and Ireland and to introduce regular DNA testing of meat at Silvercrest and its sister factory, Dalepak Hambleton, north Yorkshire.

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