h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>>Horse maet itself in the food is not the main issue; main issue is due to potential carry over of drugs given to horse into the human food chain.

Agreed, but you wouldn't believe this by listening to the news. Typically, the reports talk about food being 'contaminated with horsemeat', as if the fact that it is horse makes it a bad thing. What they should say is that the food 'contains contaminated horsemeat'.

It's all about appealing to arbitrary cultural notions about what meat is and isn't acceptable. When the thing first started they did vox pops, and nobody gave a stuff that it was horse meat, just that it was mislabeled. So now they're specifically interviewing people who they can guarantee will give the response they want. Yesterday they had a dude on the news who was a long time purchaser of Findus lasagne and other Findus products who now will never buy from them again because of what's in it.

MMF - it's not about the labelling being vague at all - it's about the labelling bearing absolutely no relation to what's in the packet.

I know what you mean. You get numb with all these so-called experts telling us what is and isn't safe, but when a dude gets involved, it's time to sit up and listen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/09/aldi-100-percent-horsemeat-beef-products

"Aldi became the latest supermarket to confirm its withdrawn beef products contained up to 100% horsemeat."

Talk about shutting the freezer cabinet door after the horse has been blended...

I'm so hungry I could eat a lasagne.

When a minister starts force feeding his children with burgers, that's when I get incredibly worried.

Saw some footage of grocers clearing out rows and rows
of frozen 'beef' patties and Findus Lasagna. And I have
to wonder if it will just be trashed when it could be
sent to Europe where they are less sensitive about this.

Of course, the possible drugs injected into the horses
in question may be another consideration. Or some EU
regulation that says a dead horse cannot be flogged
across a border more than once.


~jwf~

I'll say again: it's not a question of some arbitrary cultural squeamishness about eating horse. It's a question of nobody knowing what's in the things.

There's long been a story that when the SAS Captain Robert Nairac was murdered, the reason he was never found is because his body was disposed of in a meat processing plant. Given what we know about the traceability of the contents, who's to say it wasn't true?

Gonna try and pick up some My Lidl Pony later.

Local marketing...

The economy hamburger is redder than its supposed to be.

That may be due to the color of horse meat, which is redder than beef, same as the kangaroo meat once used as an adulterant is paler.

...or it could be that red dye used to disguise the color of tainted meat that was outlawed back in the early 1970s...

"I'll say again: it's not a question of some arbitrary cultural squeamishness about eating horse. It's a question of nobody knowing what's in the things. "



And I'll say again, the squeamishness angle is where the media are trying to go with it. I am not the media, strangely enough, I know it's a question of people not knowing, but that's not how it's being done on the news. Hence why the public opinion bits have changed from people who don't give a stuff about the content but would prefer honest labelling to people who are Genuinely Disgusted And Can Never Trust Findus Or Tesco Again. Hence why they talk about "contaminated with horsemeat". Hence why they talk about "international conspiracies".

To be fair, it seems that some Findus Lasagnas were contaminated with beef.

Mr. Dreadful



An example here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/08/no-horsemeat-please-british?intcmp=239

Although how could eat such a good looking horse as the one in the photo...soooo smilaey...soooo ccuuuutttttteeeeee....?

I'd flash fry a fillet steak of it and have it with carrots cooked in pernod with home-made gnochhi.

There was an advert last night for M supermarket. It had Ant and Dec in it and was *all* about how the supermarket knows, unquestionably, where its meat has come from.

It must have been made weeks ago but I'm surprised they didn't dub on 'and no horse' at the end just to really capitalise on the current situation.

So far on FB I've seen Findus Bologneighs, Findus Filly Con Carne, They'll never Findus in here, and an Only Frozen Horses packet featuring a picture of Del Boy. This is nearly as good as Richard III last week.

Mol

I'm reliably informed that for those suffering with an iron deficiency, horsemeat is a good source for iron.

Especially if they leave the horseshoes on.


Okay, I'll get me coat now....

Best I've seen is "What cheese do Findus use? Marscapone."

I wonder what's next. Easter Eggs without any egg in them?

They're surprisingly difficult to find. I've a mate who can't eat egg and his options are very limited.

I was disgusted to learn my Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream didn't contain any German people in it. False advertising I tells yer!