European commission may force U-turn on horse passports database
The results are now in from European Commission (EC) tests on beef products
called for last month. Accordingly, food safety authorities in the 27 EU member
states carried out 7.259 tests, of which 4,144 were tested for the presence of
horsemeat DNA and 3,115 for bute. The results showed 193 samples revealed
positive traces of horsemeat (4.66%) and 16 showed positive traces of bute
(0.51%). While the horsemeat scandal is back in the news, this article reflects
on the Government’s decision to end the national passport system in September
2012 and leave recording to 75+ different bodies. The EU is calling for every
Member State to have a central database of horse movements, including through
abattoirs.