Horsemeat found in cottage pies delivered to Lancashire schools

Feb 15 2013 By Cheryl Mullin

COTTAGE pie testing positive for horsemeat was delivered to schools in Lancashire, it has been confirmed.

The county council said it has withdrawn the pre-prepared beef product from 47 school kitchens.

The announcement is the latest development in the scandal and comes as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was releasing new details of its latest tests into horsemeat in processed meals.

The FSA will report on the UK products after asking retailers and suppliers to provide “meaningful results” from tests to detect the presence of horsemeat in processed meals labelled as beef.

Lancashire County Councillor Susie Charles, cabinet member for children and schools, said: “We share the concerns people have about what is clearly a major problem in food supplies across the UK and Europe.

“Because of those concerns we decided to seek extra assurance that our external suppliers were not providing any products containing horsemeat DNA, and one of the products has returned a positive result.

“Relatively few schools in Lancashire use this particular product but our priority is to provide absolute assurance that meals contain what the label says – having discovered this one doesn’t, we have no hesitation in removing it from menus.

“This does not appear to be a food safety issue but I’ve no doubt parents will agree we need to take a very firm line with suppliers and it is a credit to our officers that we have been able to quickly identify the problem and take the product off the menus.”