British beef lasagne may contain horse meat (with photo)

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (February 15) urged the public not to consume a kind of beef lasagne, imported from Britain, as it might be adulterated with horse meat which has not undergone tests for veterinary drugs. The trade should also stop selling the product concerned.

"The CFS received notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission earlier today that a British company detected horse DNA in its own-brand beef lasagne which was produced in Luxembourg. Further testing for phenylbutazone (also known as Bute), a veterinary drug, has been undertaken and results are awaited. The concerned company is now voluntarily recalling the affected product, which has also been imported to Hong Kong," a CFS spokesman said.

Details of the product concerned are as follows:

Product name: Findus Beef Lasagne
Place of origin: Britain
Manufacturer: Comigel (Luxembourg)
Packing size: 360 grams

The importer, PARKnSHOP, was contacted in accordance with RASFF's information. The CFS was informed that the company had stopped sale of the affected product and initiated a recall. For enquiries about the product recall, consumers can call its hotline at 2606 8658, which operates daily from 9am to 6pm. CFS staff have also conducted checks at other retail outlets and, so far, found no affected product available for sale.

The spokesman advised consumers who had bought the affected product, regardless of any batch, not to consume it. The trade should also stop selling the affected product. So far the CFS has not received any reports of persons feeling unwell after consuming the product or complaints about the affected product.

The spokesman noted that CFS alerted the trade immediately after noticing this food incident through its routine Food Incident Surveillance System last Saturday. The CFS also contacted the British authorities and the European Commission for more information, and was subsequently confirmed today that the affected product was available for sale in Hong Kong.

"The CFS will continue to monitor the development of the situation in order to take appropriate follow-up action," the spokesman said.

The Centre for Food Safety today (February 15) advised people not to consume a kind of beef lasagne, imported from Britain, as it might be adulterated with horse meat which has not undergone tests for veterinary drugs. The trade should also stop selling the product concerned.

Ends/Friday, February 15, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:16