Birds Eye: Horse DNA discovery 'clearly unacceptable'

Since the first discovery of horsemeat in some beef products produced by a number of manufactures and retailers, we at Iglo Foods Group, the parent company of Birds Eye, have been checking the integrity of all our own beef products.

We aim to uphold the highest standards of food production and labelling and the reliability of our supply chain is fundamental in delivering this.

We therefore immediately initiated a Europe-wide testing programme for horse DNA and completed audits of all our suppliers. We have now conducted tests on all of our beef products.

Regrettably, we have found one product, Chilli Con Carne, produced for us by Frigilunch N.V. and sold in Belgium, that has tested positive for horse DNA at 2%. Whilst this is not a food safety issue, it is clearly unacceptable.