Horse Meat in my Load of Bull?

Been following the unfolding saga of beef laced with horse meat in Europe. Even suggestions there could have been donkey meat in there. Seems to me and earlier story had the main company blaming new regulations that required them to put actual meat n their products labeled as containing "meat". Mechanically separated meat product wasn't good enough anymore so they said it drove their suppliers to look for cheaper sources.

Lots of finger pointing, should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Just wondering what other people thought.

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Sigh! I can understand why people are upset ,and things do need to be changed, but jeez, meat is meat. Your body breaks it down into individual amino acids and reassembles it into more meat. It is not like there is melamine in there.

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Horse processing, a whole 'nother issue.
In Europe horse is served in many restaurants and is considered a top end dish. I have not had it (knowingly) but would defintiely try it. I hear is it is very good.

Sneaking in "other meats" is no big surprise to me. They need to work out some way of making it more easily available. It would be the presence of pharamcuticles in the meat that I would worry most about.

Very true. Not dangerous at all. But it does fall into the category of not getting what you thought you were buying.

I remember a case years ago where a guy who supplied LL Bean with blueberry maple syrup was caught using beet sugar. Not dangerous, just not what people were paying for. Naturally, they stopped buying from him.

Then there are people like Jews, who are forbidden from eating horse for religious reasons. Or even just the cultural thing of not wanting to. Europeans are especially picky about wanting to know exactly what is in the food and I think it's a good thing. If you don't bother telling me about horse, maybe next time you won't bother telling me about a gmo ingredient (and THAT I most definitely want to know)

Well as for the Horse meat being found in the meat
I think it is wrong that they do not say it is in there but I see nothing wrong with serving Horse meat
I have tried it and I like it
It is very lean and you need to add fat when cooking it.
I think it should be available in the Stores along with other meats. But I doubt I will ever see that.
I can see that The test for the meat might be more as people do worm the horses more and give bute and other stuff that might be in the meat

But I am a person that is all for selling and serving of horse meat

As long as the same rules apply as to what has gone into the horse before butchering - bute, I understand, is a real concern.

I think any quick merciful death is better than dying slowly on the Back 40 of starvation or injury.

R. Roo wrote:Sure makes me wonder where all the horses end up here in N. America.

Melamine??? had to wiki that one Sue, No comment, Too stunned, dont wanna believe I ate the kitchen counter but its probably true.

Yes, Mr. Roo, my comment was a reference to the Chinese manufacturers who put melamine in baby formula to boost the protein level.

I think mislabeling or not labeling things accurately is a very bad thing.

In regards to horse meat, I think if you would find if it was offered as a choice in the meat case it would be mainly feed lotted animals offered. There would be little bute in them as they would not just be some lame saddle horse or 'bad ass' but actually raised for consumption.

I have never eaten horse, and don't have a strong desire to but I do try most foods offered to me. I wish lamb was more readily available in the stores and not just a premium product. I miss being able to have lamb all the time.

Feel the same way - that's why I always have a few sheep.

Like many of you, I disapprove of mislabeling products but have no problem with horses being used for meat if there is a market for that. Not sure that I would want to eat it but then if I were to someone's house and they served it I just might. I tried bear hamburger once just because I was at someone's house and they served it. Actually it was pretty good but I never would have tried it on my own.

I read that some horses contained bute which isn't really good for human consumption. The amount was not large enough to cause reactions. The products are being sold as beef and not horse meat. Dyed pork has also been sold as beef in Sweden.

I guess I have to say that if you want to eat Horse ? then it's your choice ,but to not label a product that contains it is wrong in my book .Myself I would never eat it and I would be very upset ( sueing upset ) if I ever found out that I had been served it with out being told prior to what it was .............but each to there own I guess ?

No matter what meat appeals to you or not, being lied to insults all of us.

Mislabelling or vague labelling is dishonesty, plain and simple. It is lying.

If the money you hand over for any product was earned with hard, honest work, then honesty is the very least you should expect out of that exchange. If I pay you for BEEF, then it better be beef. Period.

But laws and rules have been put in place to favour the producer (must have commerce or the world will end) and it is a battle to get labelling laws that protect the consumer from the cheats and criminals who are out to make a buck. Make your buck..but be honest. Once you have to lie about your product, or bend teh rules of common sense (melamine in baby food!?!) it's time you were OUT OF BUSINESS.

appway wrote:Well as for the Horse meat being found in the meat
I think it is wrong that they do not say it is in there but I see nothing wrong with serving Horse meat
I have tried it and I like it
It is very lean and you need to add fat when cooking it.
I think it should be available in the Stores along with other meats. But I doubt I will ever see that.
I
can see that The test for the meat might be more as people do worm the
horses more and give bute and other stuff that might be in the meat

But I am a person that is all for selling and serving of horse meat

At one point in time in Canada horse meat was being offered in stores
not sure where. It was called Cheveline or something like that. I would
try horse meat. I eat thumper and bambi so why not. I read once in a
chinese horocope that I was supposed to eat raw horse meat. I have not
tried it yet though.
Geri

I just googled where to buy horse meat and I got this kink to the horse
meat industry in Alberta . Haven't read it have tolet out dogs
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Geri

With the excess dogs and cats in pounds, why not add them to the menu to instead of wasting so much edible food?

I know there are cultures that raise dog as meat, and although not to my taste (same with horse) I see nothing wrong with it as long as they don't eat my dogs.

Cats seem even less appetizing to me although I do know people here who have eaten cougar and lynx. Not as a regular diet, although we have a neighbour who ate bear almost exclusively as a child. He must be 6'5" so it can't have been all that bad.

The following is not my fault. It was an email from an Aussie friend...

Within hours of the news that Tesco's 'all beef hamburgers' contained 30% horse meat these quips hit the internet....

“I'm so hungry; I could eat a horse....." I guess Tesco just listened.

Anyone want a burger from Tesco? yay or neigh?

Not entirely sure how Tesco are going to get over this hurdle.

Waitress in Tesco asked if I wanted anything on my Burger. So I had a £5 each way

Had some burgers from Tesco for my tea last night....I still have a bit between my teeth.

A woman has been taken into hospital after eating horse meat burgers from Tesco; her condition is said to be stable.

Tesco are now testing all their vegetarian burgers for traces of unicorn

"I've just checked the Tesco burgers in my freezer...AND THEY'RE OFF"

Tesco now forced to deny presence of zebra in burgers, as shoppers confuse barcodes for serving suggestions.

Said to the missus these Tesco burgers given me terrible trots.

To beef or not to beef. That is equestrian.

A cow walks into a bar. Barman says 'why the long face?' Cow says 'Illegal ingredients, coming over here stealing our jobs!'

I hear the smaller version of those Tesco burgers make great horse d'oeuvres.

These Tesco burger jokes are going on a bit. Talk about flogging a dead.. agggghhh NO! NO NO NO!

I always find the topic of horsemeat an interesting one, because if you substitute dog or cat for the word horse, the majority of people have a completely different reaction.
I've drifted off the original topic of being deceived about ingredients to make. Notable point. My relationship with my horse, is a deeper bond than I have with any of my dogs.
I'm not against horsemeat, but you would catch me eating fido long before mr ed.