Cost cutting measures which led to horse meat scandal were due to greed- Crowe

Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, has said the latest news that a third Irish company has been implicated in the horse meat scandal has the potential to seriously damage Ireland’s image for producing quality food and was due to cost measures fueled by greed.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“Surely it’s not too much to ask, in the 21st Century, that consumers in Ireland and the EU are entitled to know exactly what they are eating when they buy any food product, and that they know where the food product actually originated from.

“The latest developments in the horse meat scandal are extremely worrying and it is very bad news for everyone in the food industry, but also for the customers and end users of these products.

“I had hoped that this story was restricted to the two companies first implicated and that any reputational damage would be limited. Unfortunately that is not the case.

“Minister Coveney needs to ensure that all members of the Oireachtas Committee on Agricultural are kept up to date on this very important issue, and that he is available to give clear and concise answers to the members of the Committee and the press.

“We all need to know how this has been allowed to happen and what steps are going to be taken to ensure that it will be contained and never happen again.

“Ireland cannot afford to take a hit to our reputation for producing good quality food. It is the one area of our economy that is performing well and a lot of families rely on it.

“It seems the rules were broken to cut costs and greed is probably at the heart decision to tamper with the food supply in ways which could have harmed people’s health.

“People’s livelihoods, including farmers and those who work for these companies, are being put in jeopardy and that is totally unacceptable.”