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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Could you eat a horse? Not in Malaysia


The Vet Dept tries to allay fears of meat contamination, but says checks on supermarkets have yet to start.
PUTRAJAYA: Meat products sold in Malaysia are free of horsemeat contamination, according to the Veterinary Services Department.
The department’s director general, Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin, gave the assurance today in the wake of a scandal that has shaken the European food industry.
Abdul Aziz told a press conference that consumers had no need to worry about meat products in local markets because Malaysia did not import meat or meat products from any of the European Union countries due to halal concerns.
He said his department would nevertheless take the precaution of forming a task force to monitor the situation. The task force will be composed of officials from the ministries of health and domestic trade.
He said he was hoping to launch random checks on supermarkets by next week.
Today’s press conference followed the discovery of horsemeat in several brands of processed beef products in Britain and other European countries.
The snowballing scandal first made the headlines last month, when fast food chain Burger King admitted that some of its British outlets had served hamburgers tainted with horsemeat.
The UK Foot Standards Agency has found in its early test results for 2,501 beef products that 29 samples had horsemeat at levels of 1% or above.
The scandal quickly spread to continental Europe. Two refrigerated Nestlé pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, have been taken off supermarket shelves in Italy and Spain. In France, authorities have ordered the withdrawal of Lasagnes à la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen meat product made for caterers.
The scare has also spread east, with Hong Kong authorities ordering one of the biggest supermarket chains in the territory, Park’n'Shop, to remove the lasagna made by frozen food giant Findus.
Abundant supply
Abdul Aziz said the chances of suppliers mixing their products with horsemeat were slim because Malaysia had an abundant supply of animal-sourced foods from various countries.
“Even if local equine premises were to slaughter their horses,” he said, “they must first inform us so that we would know where the meats were going.”
He said horse owners would usually resort to slaughtering a horse if it was badly injured or getting old.
He also said restaurants and eateries were not allowed to sell horsemeat without informing his department.
On a separate matter, Abdul Aziz announced that a new Animal Welfare Bill was scheduled to be tabled in the next session of Parliament.
He said the new law would provide for heavier penalties for animal abusers. First-time offenders would be subject to a fine of between RM15,000 and RM75,000 or two years’ imprisonment.
“Repeat offenders would be jailed for three years and fined twice the amount paid in the first offence,” Abdul Aziz said.

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