Horsemeat Burgers Supplied To NI Hospitals

Burgers which contained horsemeat have been supplied to hospitals in Northern Ireland, it has been confirmed.

David Bingham, from the health service's business services organisation, which provides meat for the health trusts, said a range of burger patties from a company in the Republic of Ireland had tested positive for traces of horsemeat.

"We have acted immediately; as soon as we got information there may be a confidence issue we withdrew the product," he said.

Meanwhile Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill, has called a meeting on the horsemeat scandal to discuss the matter with other executive ministers.

The Food Standards Agency is expected to publish the results of tests on processed meals sold across the UK to determine whether they contain horsemeat.

The UK government says retailers selling affected products had questions to answer about how the crisis arose and what inquiries they made about their suppliers.

In a public letter issued on Friday, 11 of the UK's major food suppliers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda issued a letter on the scandal.

"We can't accept a situation where the trust customers place in us is being compromised by fraudulent activity or even as alleged, an international criminal conspiracy," it said.

"We will do whatever it takes to restore public confidence in the food they buy and eat."

(IT)