A BURTON pub giant has revealed that it removed a host of products from its menu as a ‘precaution’ after it was revealed burgers sold at a major supermarket chain contained horse meat.
Marston’s, based in Shobnall Road, announced that it temporarily removed all beef burger dishes from sale at pubs across the country, including The Sump, in Winshill, as a ‘proactive’ measure to make sure customers received ‘the very best service’.
The pub firm took the action after Tesco was forced to remove several brands from its shelves after they were found to be contaminated following inspections by health inspectors. Iceland and Lidl were also affected.
Some lines contained up to 30 per cent horsemeat and traces of pig DNA were also found in samples from two processing plats.
A spokesman for Marston’s told the Mail: “We have had no cases of horse meat being found in our products but, following the recent incidents, took the decision to remove the products from sale until we got clarification and a 100 per cent guarantee from our suppliers.
“When we source products, we always get a 100 per cent guarantee but we wanted to make sure for the good of our customers.
“We even removed one that was 100 per cent beef just to be on the safe side
“The products have been tested and we are pleased to announce that no issues have been found and they should be returning to sale in the next few days.
“We wanted to make sure that we took proactive action before this even became an issue – which we did and it hasn’t.
“From a company perspective, we wanted to do the right thing for our customers.”
Contaminated burgers had been on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, where they were also on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl and Aldi.
A total of 27 burger products were analysed, with 10 of them containing traces of horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.
In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA.
