Local butchers benefit from horse meat scandal

10:30am Wednesday 20th February 2013 in Local News By Luke Lambert

Dan George with his horse-free meat Dan George with his horse-free meat

MEAT lovers may be visiting butchers more regularly after the recent supermarket scandal surrounding horse meat.

News broke in January that food products listed as beef in supermarkets contained horse meat, as much as 100 per cent in some cases, at chains including Tesco, Asda, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland stores.

Crazy Dan’s House of Meat, on East Walk, Basildon Town Centre, is run by Dan George and he says business has been much better since the scandal broke. However, he says it won’t be long before customers are sucked back in by supermarkets as he thinks they will cut all their prices and advertise bigger than ever to bring customers back.

“We have definitely seen a rise is custom over the last couple of weeks and people are thinking more about their meat. I have worked in the industry for the last 22 years and have never even discussed horses before. We are concerned about what is in peoples food and I hope customers recognise that local butchers have always provided honest opinions and once the scandal blows over continue to shop here."

Benfleet’s Barkins Butchers Ltd, on High Road, has sold ready meals but owner Mike Arnold says all their meat is checked and he was shocked when the scandal broke.

“I was very surprised. We make all of our ready meals on the premises and we only put the best quality meat in them. I know how much it costs to produce a good quality meal and it certainly isn’t £1 as some supermarkets suggest. People come here because they recognise good quality meat and know they are being served by a community friendly butcher. Local producers care and I only hope local fishmongers, greengrocers and butchers continue to be visited as they are now.”

Comments (18)

11:22am Wed 20 Feb 13

Cosmo Spring says...

any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try
any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try Cosmo Spring

11:50am Wed 20 Feb 13

Shoebury_Cyclist says...

I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse? Shoebury_Cyclist

12:01pm Wed 20 Feb 13

SpiffSpaffington1984 says...

Because if we wanted horse we would ask for horse
Because if we wanted horse we would ask for horse SpiffSpaffington1984

12:43pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Ian P says...

Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
Many people are happy to eat horse meat intended for the food chain, but there are two issues as I see it with what has come to light recently. Firstly people believe they are buying beef, when in fact they are not, which is in total contravention of the UK's trades description act. Secondly, and far more importantly, while all meat bred specifically for the food chain has to meet certain standards and can be traced back to source, this is not the case for the horse meat which has been substituted for beef. This means that there is no way of knowing the source and quality of the meat and whether the animals have been treated with medications banned from the food chain. People have the right to know what they are eating and due to the recent scandal this is no longer the case.
[quote][p][bold]Shoebury_Cyclist[/bold] wrote: I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?[/p][/quote]Many people are happy to eat horse meat intended for the food chain, but there are two issues as I see it with what has come to light recently. Firstly people believe they are buying beef, when in fact they are not, which is in total contravention of the UK's trades description act. Secondly, and far more importantly, while all meat bred specifically for the food chain has to meet certain standards and can be traced back to source, this is not the case for the horse meat which has been substituted for beef. This means that there is no way of knowing the source and quality of the meat and whether the animals have been treated with medications banned from the food chain. People have the right to know what they are eating and due to the recent scandal this is no longer the case. Ian P

1:06pm Wed 20 Feb 13

foxy108 says...

This news isn't rocket science is it
This news isn't rocket science is it foxy108

1:39pm Wed 20 Feb 13

EthanEdwards says...

Thank god the EU can protect us from oddly mishapen banana's and the sheer horror of used WI jam jars.

Yet is strangely unable to stop kackers yard meat getting into the human food chain.

Well worth the BILLIONS we give away every year...NOT! Still the Lib/Lab/Cons are anti EU aren't they? they say they are.....er no they are not. In fact like the EU they have but one answer to everything, more EU.

I blame this scandal squarely on the EU.
Thank god the EU can protect us from oddly mishapen banana's and the sheer horror of used WI jam jars. Yet is strangely unable to stop kackers yard meat getting into the human food chain. Well worth the BILLIONS we give away every year...NOT! Still the Lib/Lab/Cons are anti EU aren't they? they say they are.....er no they are not. In fact like the EU they have but one answer to everything, more EU. I blame this scandal squarely on the EU. EthanEdwards

2:05pm Wed 20 Feb 13

DogsMessInLeigh says...

Sausage.
Sausage. DogsMessInLeigh

2:45pm Wed 20 Feb 13

emcee says...

Cosmo Spring wrote:
any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try
If anything comes from this situation, let's hope it includes seeing more horse meat for sale in the future.
[quote][p][bold]Cosmo Spring[/bold] wrote: any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try[/p][/quote]If anything comes from this situation, let's hope it includes seeing more horse meat for sale in the future. emcee

4:53pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Alekhine says...

Hi ho Silver....anybody know what the horse version of BSE is? Nope, neither do I.
Hi ho Silver....anybody know what the horse version of BSE is? Nope, neither do I. Alekhine

5:12pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Ironman says...

Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
Thats not the ussue, is it. We have a democracy where we vote for a Government whose responsibility is to ensure the best for it's voters.
It seems to me that 'the best' can mean anything as long as there is money to be made.
We have a fundamental right to know what we eat/buy/use. Then, we can make our own choices.
If we want to eat horse, if we want to eat animals that are not compassionately slaughtered because of some idiotic religious dictate, then label it accordingly and let us decide.
[quote][p][bold]Shoebury_Cyclist[/bold] wrote: I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?[/p][/quote]Thats not the ussue, is it. We have a democracy where we vote for a Government whose responsibility is to ensure the best for it's voters. It seems to me that 'the best' can mean anything as long as there is money to be made. We have a fundamental right to know what we eat/buy/use. Then, we can make our own choices. If we want to eat horse, if we want to eat animals that are not compassionately slaughtered because of some idiotic religious dictate, then label it accordingly and let us decide. Ironman

6:43pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Carnabackable says...

Alekhine wrote:
Hi ho Silver....anybody know what the horse version of BSE is? Nope, neither do I.
NEIGH LAD,
[quote][p][bold]Alekhine[/bold] wrote: Hi ho Silver....anybody know what the horse version of BSE is? Nope, neither do I.[/p][/quote]NEIGH LAD, Carnabackable

8:25pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Diannah says...

Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse?

Still happy to eat it?
[quote][p][bold]Shoebury_Cyclist[/bold] wrote: I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?[/p][/quote]Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse? Still happy to eat it? Diannah

9:12pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Carnabackable says...

Diannah wrote:
Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse?

Still happy to eat it?
The jockey...
[quote][p][bold]Diannah[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Shoebury_Cyclist[/bold] wrote: I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?[/p][/quote]Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse? Still happy to eat it?[/p][/quote]The jockey... Carnabackable

9:58pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Diannah says...

Carnabackable wrote:
Diannah wrote:
Shoebury_Cyclist wrote:
I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?
Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse?

Still happy to eat it?
The jockey...
...and his dog!
[quote][p][bold]Carnabackable[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Diannah[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Shoebury_Cyclist[/bold] wrote: I don't see the problem. If people are happy to eat cow, pig, lamb etc. Then why not horse?[/p][/quote]Has the spinal cord been taken out of the horse you're happy to eat? Was it diseased? Was it on medication which could affect your health? What else was chucked in the mincer along with the horse? Still happy to eat it?[/p][/quote]The jockey...[/p][/quote]...and his dog! Diannah

10:52pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Soouthchurch59 says...

'Local butchers benefit from horse meat scandal'

Every cloud....
'Local butchers benefit from horse meat scandal' Every cloud.... Soouthchurch59

10:27am Thu 21 Feb 13

tricklesthegreek says...

Now people will finally cotton on that supporting local butchers and greengrocers will not only boost the economy of the local area but also allow people to know what they are getting. If I want horse, I order horse. If I want cow, I order beef. If I want chicken, I order chicken. I may have unknowingly eaten horse meat for years - so I won't get on my soap box about whether it's right or not because I eat other meats. (could have said High Horse but didn't think that was in good taste!)
I think the point is that people should know that what they believe they are eating is actually what it is.
Good on this butcher and I hope his trade continues to grow.
Now people will finally cotton on that supporting local butchers and greengrocers will not only boost the economy of the local area but also allow people to know what they are getting. If I want horse, I order horse. If I want cow, I order beef. If I want chicken, I order chicken. I may have unknowingly eaten horse meat for years - so I won't get on my soap box about whether it's right or not because I eat other meats. (could have said High Horse but didn't think that was in good taste!) I think the point is that people should know that what they believe they are eating is actually what it is. Good on this butcher and I hope his trade continues to grow. tricklesthegreek

11:22am Thu 21 Feb 13

shallotman says...

Cosmo Spring wrote:
any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try
Had it on the continent some years ago. Needs a good sauce with it, found it very nice. Wish I could buy it over here. Lets face it, it would seem we have been eating it for years already.
[quote][p][bold]Cosmo Spring[/bold] wrote: any chance they can get some decent horse meat in for real as I'd like to give it a try[/p][/quote]Had it on the continent some years ago. Needs a good sauce with it, found it very nice. Wish I could buy it over here. Lets face it, it would seem we have been eating it for years already. shallotman

2:32pm Sat 23 Feb 13

emcee says...

How does horse meat need a good sauce? "Sauce" (gravy to the working class) is normally used as an addition to a dish as a whole or to disguise the bland taste of badly cooked meat.
Horse, along with many other meats (kangaroo, ostrich, impala, crocodilians ...), should all be more commonly available than they are. They all taste delicious and are all tender, if cooked correctly. No sauce needed.
How does horse meat need a good sauce? "Sauce" (gravy to the working class) is normally used as an addition to a dish as a whole or to disguise the bland taste of badly cooked meat. Horse, along with many other meats (kangaroo, ostrich, impala, crocodilians ...), should all be more commonly available than they are. They all taste delicious and are all tender, if cooked correctly. No sauce needed. emcee

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