# Horse meat scandal in Europe. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625 "2013-02-07T19:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/61 "2013-02-10T09:17:17Z")
> [@williambaskerville](#): > > [Horsemeat scandal blamed on international fraud by mafia gangs | Horsemeat scandal | The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/09/horsemeat-scandal-international-fraud) > > According to the story above, there’s evidence it’s a deliberate fraud, run by Polish and Italian mafia gangs, who were coercing vets in abbatoirs into signing off horse meat as beef. Hehehehe… my, my how that business would be good for getting rid of those inconvenient bodies… at this point, I would want testing for human DNA as well. You would think that at the level that has been implied so far… 30% of burgers tested were adulterated… up to 30% of the burger content was horse… 100% of the Beef Lasagna product was horse… there should be some fuzzy math accounting for the total number of cattle slaughtered and total beef imported compared to the poundage sold… Apparently, in the UK a pound of beef goes a VERY VERY long way. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/62 "2013-02-11T09:23:26Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > Hehehehe… my, my how that business would be good for getting rid of those inconvenient bodies… at this point, I would want testing for human DNA as well. > > You would think that at the level that has been implied so far… 30% of burgers tested were adulterated… up to 30% of the burger content was horse… 100% of the Beef Lasagna product was horse… there should be some fuzzy math accounting for the total number of cattle slaughtered and total beef imported compared to the poundage sold… Apparently, in the UK a pound of beef goes a VERY VERY long way. Aaand, although this strictly has nothing to do with the affaire “per se”, a British friend of mine told me that someone in the UK has found out that “HAMBURGERS” is actually an anagram for “SHERGAR BUM”. Obviously the conspiracy goes deeper and has been on for longer than anybody expected… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/63 "2013-02-11T10:00:40Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > …“HAMBURGERS” is actually an anagram for “SHERGAR BUM”. > > Obviously the conspiracy goes deeper and has been on for longer than anybody expected… 😛 And apparently he was one heck of a horse to go a whole lot further than UK beef does… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/64 "2013-02-11T13:00:23Z")
> [@williambaskerville](#): > > [Horsemeat scandal blamed on international fraud by mafia gangs | Horsemeat scandal | The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/09/horsemeat-scandal-international-fraud) > > According to the story above, there’s evidence it’s a deliberate fraud, run by Polish and Italian mafia gangs, who were coercing vets in abbatoirs into signing off horse meat as beef. And if the vets refuse, it turns out that they too, are made of meat. Seriously, I’m waiting for it to be reported. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/65 "2013-02-11T13:01:37Z")
Oops - didn’t see [post #61 ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/66 "2013-02-11T14:55:04Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Oh I understand that fine, was just wondering how nefarious it is. I no longer eat meat but I wouldn’t be averse to eating horse if it’s safe to eat and labelled as such. I was imagining the sort of horses that would be going cheap would be disease addled is all. I’m aware too of the extensive horsemeat trade in France for one. I could get both horse and beef burgers at the local supermarket in Italy. Horse typically cost about 150% that of the cost of beef. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the horse being used as a cheaper substitute for beef is going to be pretty poor quality. The French are starting to speculate it may not just be horse now, too, but also donkeys. Somebody elsewhere also asked, if various mafias are involved, whether the meat has been tested for human DNA 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/67 "2013-02-11T21:01:21Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Somebody elsewhere also asked, if various mafias are involved, whether the meat has been tested for human DNA 😃 I brought it up and I can’t believe that they aren’t testing for it. New Level of Grossitude: You’re on your way home from a day of training with your cadaver dog. Too tired to cook, you decide to stop through the local fast food joint for a burger. When you get your meal and put it on the seat next to you, your cadaver dog starts responding to it as human bits. So, long story short… all they need to do is grab a cadaver dog and run him through a couple grocery stores and restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/68 "2013-02-11T23:54:14Z")
Those who are paying more for horsemeat over beef will appreciate this. Apparently, you’re paying a serious markup. > [@](#): > > The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has repeatedly alleged that passports are switched in order to allow undocumented horses to enter the food chain. Passing horsemeat off as beef offers unscrupulous traders a potential windfall. **Horsemeat sells on average for €900 per tonne, while beef costs €3,500.** > > Read more: [Horse found abandoned in Ireland last week, but records show it was SLAUGHTERED in March | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276287/Horse-abandoned-Ireland-week-records-SLAUGHTERED-March.html#ixzz2KdbVSMQD) > Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/69 "2013-02-12T00:42:07Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I haven’t taken a fence - it’s the papers that are making hay out of it. Bunch of neighsayers, but we’re saddled with them. Question is whether this is a one-off or part of a rein of terror, and you know some people are going to stirrup all the trouble they can. It’s not even as if horse meat is bad for you - it’s rich in foalic acid, for a start; the worst it ever gave me was the trots - and, frankly, the common colt has done for more people than horse meat ever did. But people are up in arms if the latest Gallup poll is anything to go by, and I guess more cases are going to crop up. What a nag. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/70 "2013-02-12T09:42:21Z")
This issue has exposed just how mesed up the supply chain is in Europe. No one has a clue where the meat came from originally. Shades of the mad cow fiasco. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/71 "2013-02-12T13:37:23Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > Those who are paying more for horsemeat over beef will appreciate this. Apparently, you’re paying a serious markup. Horses raised for meat are going to cost a lot more than horses raised for something else and illegally entering the food chain as a means of “disposal”. The folks disposing of horses this way don’t need to recoup the full cost of ownership, they just need to get more than the glue factory is paying. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/72 "2013-02-12T13:52:50Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I brought it up and I can’t believe that they aren’t testing for it. > > New Level of Grossitude: You’re on your way home from a day of training with your cadaver dog. Too tired to cook, you decide to stop through the local fast food joint for a burger. When you get your meal and put it on the seat next to you, your cadaver dog starts responding to it as human bits. > > So, long story short… all they need to do is grab a cadaver dog and run him through a couple grocery stores and restaurants. I imagine that would be a tall order for a cadaver dog - they’re trained to detect buried or hidden corpses, often in a state of decay. Mixing a fresh human corpse together with a bunch of different animal species in a meat grinder might mask the scent a bit. Not to mention that presenting even a trained dog with a heap of meat is probably sending a confusing signal. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/73 "2013-02-12T18:40:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > CNN is reporting the story now. > > One sad consequence of this story is the tremendous waste of the recalled product. I hope CNN is exaggerating. It couldn’t be millions of packages of food could it? :dubious: How could it be fewer? There are 62 million people in the UK. If only 5% of them were going to buy a pack of supermarket burgers this week, that’s 3.1 million packs. And that’s a tiny, minimal estimate. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/74 "2013-02-12T19:44:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What a nag. I’m knackered after all that. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/75 "2013-02-12T20:07:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What a nag. Mister, that was just for starters. …An _hors d’oeuvre_, if you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/76 "2013-02-12T21:42:53Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Mister, that was just for starters. > > …An _hors d’oeuvre_, if you prefer. I find your whole attitude cavalier. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/77 "2013-02-12T21:45:54Z")
Perhaps BK will come out with a Maurice Chevalier burger. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/78 "2013-02-12T22:53:56Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I brought it up and I can’t believe that they aren’t testing for it. Me too (previous page) and me too. I’m waiting for the news to break. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/79 "2013-02-13T08:18:40Z")
I couldn’t find any horse bacon but I did find a [bacon horse.](http://walyou.com/bacon-horse/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625/80 "2013-02-13T08:29:22Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > I couldn’t find any horse bacon but I did find a [bacon horse.](http://walyou.com/bacon-horse/) > [@](#): > > It seems that Bacon makes everything look appetizing Um. Not exactly everything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-meat-scandal-in-europe/649625.md?page=3)