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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to find myself shouting IT'S NOT ABOUT THE HORSE MEAT

170 replies

ICBINEG · 08/02/2013 12:22

It's about companies not having the faintest idea what is in the food they sell!

Drugs, contaminants, carcinogens, allergens etc.

If you don't even know it is horse not beef then how can I trust it doesn't contain milk and hence will not kill my DNephew if I happen to feed it to him?

The same goes for toys. If you don't know who actually made the parts and from what then how do you know it isn't smothered in lead/anything else that is extremely harmful to children?

I predict a future filled with product and toy recalls followed by lawsuits until retailers wake up to the fact that we WILL blame them when a burger/toy they sold us harms the health of our children.

OP posts:
BegoniaBampot · 08/02/2013 14:11

Agree OP. Don't have a problem with horse meat as long as I've actually chosen to eat it. Made me think about avoiding the supermarkets a bit and using my local butcher, also made me think about eating a lot less meat.

DontmindifIdo · 08/02/2013 14:11

countrykitten - as I said earlier, unless you are less than 20 years old, then it would have been cheaper for your mum to source food locally and cook from scratch, it's only more recently it's become the other way round that food from scratch is the 'posh' way to do it.

There's a lot of sneering on here that some how the people who don't cook from scratch "deserve" this because they bought preprepared food. Bollocks - the food you buy should be clearly labelled, even if that label ends up having a list of additives/says horse. Regardless of what you pay, you should know what you're getting.

amillionyears · 08/02/2013 14:11

But why is an organic expensive deli any more a reliable source of ingredients than anywhere else?

chances are, their products are even less tested than a large supermarket chain?

countrykitten · 08/02/2013 14:16

Princess I know where you are coming from . I was diagnosed with endometriosis last year and have had to educate myself about all of the chemicals and hormones that are around us and in everything we use. It is frightening and even though I am as organic as I can be I still feel defeated by the whole endeavour at times.

Fallenangle · 08/02/2013 14:18

It isn't about labelling it is about sourcing. If Findus had known it was horsemeat they wouldn't have used it, it is that they didn't know and took on trust a complex and easily infiltrated supply chain that is the worry.
We were told over and over that meat could be traced not just to the farm it was produced on but to the actual animal. Twas all bollox, turns out they don't even know which races it ran in.

PickledInAPearTree · 08/02/2013 14:25

Just agreeing with everything dontmind is saying here to save my fingers.

Original poster
ICBINEG · 08/02/2013 14:26

princess sorry to hear you are struggling. And yes it is a massive can of worms. I really hope all retailers of every sort are now having a good hard look at their supply chains and realising that responsibility for testing that what they sell is what they say it is, ultimately lies with them.

OP posts:
princesschick · 08/02/2013 14:27

Countrykitten here's a link to a handout from my nutritionist, which I found really helpful. One of her specialist areas is endo, and she has lots of info on her website plus she's published a book on it too, which might be useful :) toxic tour handout and website

Sorry off topic for everyone else!

Original poster
ICBINEG · 08/02/2013 14:28

Not off topic at all!

OP posts:
princesschick · 08/02/2013 14:32

Thank you ICBINEG Oh, I didn't mention that I'm now 5 months pregnant (I thought I had Blush - baby brain Grin) - we think because of changes I made to my diet with above nutritionist. This is all so very close to home for me! Hence reminder of vigilance! So the researching of organic moses baskets, mattresses, muslins, nappies, organic toys v toxic toys is very much on our agenda at the moment!! Toys with lead paint from China makes my heart sink and makes me very Angry

princesschick · 08/02/2013 14:33

Ok, the toxic tour link didn't work - try this toxic tour

trixymalixy · 08/02/2013 14:36

YANBU. I have DC with multiple allergies, so cook mostly from scratch, but when I want to have confidence that the label is accurate

amillionyears · 08/02/2013 14:41

Our lives have become international whether we like it or not.

I do sometimes wish, though havent properly thought it all through, that the pirce of oil would go through the roof. That way, everything we buy and do would go back to being local.

OldMacEIEIO · 08/02/2013 14:43

Fallen angel. It's not about sourcing, its about labelling. If you label it as beef, you have a duty to make sure it's beef. And now you are bringing race into it as well, sheesh

DizzyZebra · 08/02/2013 15:43

Well done, I am so sick of hearing people moan about the 'poor horseys' (They'd be dead whether they were in your burger or not?) when the fact people didn't know in the first place throws up much more serious concerns.

pluCaChange · 08/02/2013 16:48

WTF at frozen omelettes! Shock

WRT the drug thing DontMind mentioned, have a look here: www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/08/horsemeat-lasagne-scandal-findus-reputation?INTCMP=SRCH

The point is that the horses had not been reared for food, so there was no attempt to make it safe, as would have happened even in horses reared for meat

Fallenangle · 08/02/2013 16:57

Ice not sure if that is a joke or not. Race as in racehorse. And it is about sourcing cos they didn't deliberately sell horse lasagne as beef lasagne, they thought it was beef because they didn't have a secure supply chain.

Fallenangle · 08/02/2013 16:59

Oops not Ice EIEIO stupid autocorrect.

NUFC69 · 08/02/2013 17:23

I think what shocked me most was the fact that Findus were importing ready prepared food and labelling it - it had never occurred to me that things like that wouldn't have been made in this country. That'll teach me to take things at face value - fortunately I don't buy much ready made food, and I'll be thinking more about it in future.

babiesinslingsgetcoveredinfood · 08/02/2013 17:26

It is interesting isn't it nuf it could be exactly the same as basics brand at aldi. Marketing is v powerful.

piprabbit · 08/02/2013 17:34

If the supermarkets want to sell me horsemeat, fair enough. But at least have the decency to label it as such and not pretend it is 100% beef, so that I can choose whether to eat it.

If you don't know you are selling horsemeat, how can you possibly guarantee it is not contaminated?

In the past, food scares have tended to be all about the the UK supply chain. It turns out that the UK is only a tiny part of the issue.

BegoniaBampot · 08/02/2013 19:53

Heard in the news earlier that they think the horse meat came from a criminal element. What the hell could be in our food if criminal gangs are actually at the source, we could be eating anything.

AllYoursBabooshka · 08/02/2013 20:00

I found myself squeaking the same thing in outrage at my dad today.

"Yes dad, we know you would try anything that has a mother BUT IT'S NOT ABOUT THE HORSE MEAT"

Sigh.

giveitago · 08/02/2013 20:03

But it is also about horse meat. I've been offered and refused because I don't want it. But it's in other stuff.

I think these companies are aware of what they are getting actually.

babiesinslingsgetcoveredinfood · 08/02/2013 20:05

Ooh begonia good point. Eew, are they testing for human DNA (glad I buy very little processed food. I'll try not to think about my mafia funded salami!)

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