Burger Off!

The next time you are unwise enough to buy a ready made burgers, pies, curries etc from a supermarket, make sure that you are 100% certain which hapless animal was slaughtered to provide the meat for the product.

The BBC reports that horse DNA has been found in some beefburgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has said.

The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire.

It said there was no risk to health.

The burgers were on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they were on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl and Aldi.

The FSAI said the retailers stated that they were removing all implicated batches of the burgers.

A total of 27 products were analysed, with 10 of them containing horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.

Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco.

In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA.

Contradictions

Contradictions

Expense doesn't necessarily mean quality when it comes to dining.

In early November New York City's Serendipity 3 restaurant was noted by the Guinness Book of World Records for having the planet's most expensive dessert (a $25K chocolate sundae, featuring, among other delicacies, edible gold flakes).

By mid November all had changed, the city's Department of Health had ordered Serendipity 3 closed after inspectors found a live mouse in the kitchen, along with mouse droppings, fruit flies, house flies and more than 100 cockroaches.

Don't fall for the hype of an overpriced restaurant.

Chinese Food Scare

Chinese Food Scare

Another food scare has hit the already badly dented reputation of Chinese food companies.

China's quality control watchdog found excessive amounts of preservatives in 13% of 46 chili products tested across the country recently.

The products came from 38 companies in 12 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The administration also found that 8% of dried vegetables and dried fruits had failed safety tests, due mainly to excessive colour additives and the presence of sulphur dioxide.

China last month said it would tighten up inspections nationwide after a number of dangerous food products was found in domestic and export markets.

In one of the highest-profile cases, pet food contaminated by additives originating in China is suspected of killing thousands of dogs and cats in the United States.