Photos: Scandal over mislabeled horsemeat in Europe spreads
February 19, 2013
A horse is displayed at the annual horse market in Skaryszew, Poland on February 18, 2013. The horse market is the biggest and the oldest one in Poland, taking place every year since 1432. Polish animal rights campaigners heckled traders at the fair on Monday to try to prevent them from selling the animals for meat. following concern about the Europe-wide trade scandle in horse meat. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP/Getty Images
A shop assistant arranges horsemeat ham, wurst and sausage at the Schlemmer Hansel stand at the weekly open-air market in the Hohenschoenhausen district in Berlin, Germany on February 14, 2013. While authorities across Europe investigate the origin of ready-made lasagna that was labeled to contain only beef when it in fact also contained horsemeat, fans of horsemeat are pointing to its good taste and its health benefits. Horsemeat contains significantly less fat than beef and has slightly higher protein. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Packages of Buitoni meat ravioli are pictured on display on a supermarket shelf in Mataro near Barcelona on February 19, 2013. Nestle has removed beef pasta meals sold under its Buitoni brand in Italy and Spain after finding traces of horsemeat, becoming the latest victim of a food scandal still spreading across Europe. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino
A sign hangs at a branch of Burger King in central London, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Burger King says it has stopped buying beef from an Irish supplier whose patties in Britain and Ireland were found to contain traces of horsemeat. Officials say there is no risk to human health, but the episode has raised food security concerns. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Butchers prepare meat at James Gillespie Butchers Shop on February 12, 2013 in Glasgow, Scotland. British high street butchers are enjoying a resurgence in popularity since the horsemeat food scandal broke, reporting a sharp increase in sales of freshly cut meat. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Butchers prepare meat at James Gillespie Butchers Shop on February 12, 2013 in Glasgow, Scotland. British high street butchers are enjoying a resurgence in their popularity since the horsemeat food scandal broke, reporting a sharp increase in sales of freshly cut meat. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Butcher Peter Wisker stands next to carcasses at his horse meat butchery in Haarlem, Netherlands on February 13, 2013. Wisker claims that business is going better despite the horsemeat scandal in Europe that includes two Dutch businessmen who have been convicted by a Dutch court for passing off horse as Islamic halal-slaughtered beef. Ilvy Njiokiktjien/AFP/Getty Images
A "Steak de Cheval", a 100% horsemeat burger, served with a fried egg on a bed of lettuce is displayed at Chez Sophie, a French restaurant at Knockholt, southern England on February 15, 2013. The horsemeat burgers are sold legally and listed on the menu. Some supermarkets in Britain have recently been hit by a scandal involving the mislabeling of beef products. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
Motorists drive past the Castelnaudary plant of meat-processing firm Spanghero, on February 19, 2013, ahead of the partial resumption of its activities, one day after France renewed its license which was suspended when it was accused of passing off 750 tons of horsemeat as beef. The firm was allowed to produce minced meat, sausages and ready-to-eat meals but not to stock frozen meats. ERIC CABANIS/AFP/Getty Images
Pallets of food products suspected of containing horsemeat including ready-made lasagna have been sealed off and marked as "off-limits" in a refrigerated warehouse in Neuss, western Germany on February 19, 2013. The European Union launched tests for horse DNA in meat products as part of a plan to battle food fraud following the horsemeat scandal spreading across Europe. DANIEL NAUPOLD/AFP/Getty Images
Pallets of food products suspected of containing horsemeat including ready-made lasagna have been sealed off and marked as "off-limits" in a refrigerated warehouse in Neuss, western Germany on February 19, 2013. The European Union launched tests for horse DNA in meat products as part of a plan to battle food fraud following the horsemeat scandal spreading across Europe. AFP PHOTO / DANIEL NAUPOLD
A worker pushes a container with blocks of meat before filling up a dump truck at Spanghero's French meat processing factory in Castelnaudary near Toulouse, southwestern France on February 15, 2013. A French inquiry into how horsemeat got into ready-made-meals sold across Europe found that the Spanghero firm labelled meat as beef when it knew what it was processing may have been horse. The privately-owned firm has had its operating license suspended for 10 days and will face legal action if the suspicions are confirmed. The president of Spanghero promised on Friday to disprove allegations that his firm knowingly sold horse meat labelled as beef, and accused the government of being too quick to point the finger. REUTERS/Jean-Philippe Arles
An employee displays a case of frozen beef lasagna dinners, removed from stores and prepared for destruction, under a sign on a door which reads "Products for Destruction" in a central purchasing warehouse in Villeneuve, Southwestern France, February 15, 2013. An investigation has identified a French meat-processing firm as a likely culprit in the horsemeat scandal that has enraged consumers across Europe and implicated traders and abattoirs from Cyprus to Romania. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
A general view of the Tavola factory of French company Comigel in Capellen near Luxembourg February 16, 2013. After finding its beef lasagna contained horsemeat, the British unit of Findus began recalling the product from supermarket shelves last week on advice from its French supplier Comigel, raising questions over the complicated nature of the European food chain. Comigel said in a statement it paid market prices for what it thought was beef. It said it had alerted the authorities as soon as it became aware of a problem and had filed a legal complaint as a victim of fraud. REUTERS/Eric Vidal
Animal carcasses hang from hooks at the Doly-Com abattoir, one of the two units checked by Romanian authorities in a growing scandal over horsemeat mislabeled as beef in processed foods, in the village of Roma, northern Romania, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Romanian food safety officials say the country produced 6,300 tons of horse, mule and donkey meat last year, and that it was correctly labeled when it was exported to other European countries. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Workers handle meat at the Doly-Com abattoir, one of the two units checked by Romanian authorities in the horse meat scandal, in the village of Roma, northern Romania, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. On Monday, Romanian officials scrambled to defend two plants implicated in the scandal, saying the meat was properly declared and any fraud was committed elsewhere. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A worker handles meat at the Doly-Com abattoir, one of the two units checked by Romanian authorities in the horse meat scandal, in the village of Roma, northern Romania, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. On Monday, Romanian officials scrambled to defend two plants implicated in the scandal, saying the meat was properly declared and any fraud was committed elsewhere.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A fraud controller of French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Repression of Fraud walks outside the French meat supplier Spanghero's headquarters during a search under a warrant and hearings, as part of investigations on the Europe-wide scandal over horsemeat sold as beef. REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty Images
Christophe Giry (L), Spanghero's sales director, surrounded by employees, leaves a works council at the French meat processor Spanghero's factory in Castelnaudary, France on February 15, 2013. A French inquiry into how horsemeat got into ready-made-meals sold across Europe found that the Spanghero firm labelled meat as beef when it knew what it was processing may have been horse. The president of French meat processor Spanghero promised on Friday to disprove allegations that his firm knowingly sold horse meat labelled as beef, and accused the government of being too quick to point the finger. REUTERS/Jean-Philippe Arles
Dr. Andrew Wadge, the Chief Scientist at the Food Standards Agency, is interviewed outside the office of the FSA on February 15, 2013 in London, England. The FSA announced the results of 2,501 tests carried out on meat dishes in the wake of several discoveries of horse DNA in food labeled as containing beef. Their findings indicate the presence of at least 1% horsemeat in 29 food products tested. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
Employee Irmgard Hess puts a sample of minced meat in a test tube in the food control laboratory institute Eurofins in Ebersberg, near Munich on February 18, 2013. The samples of minced meat are tested for the presence of horse meat as a precaution. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
Employee Irmgard Hess takes a sample of a beef curry meal in the food control laboratory institute Eurofins in Ebersberg, near Munich February 18, 2013. The samples of minced meat are tested for the presence of horse meat as a precaution. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
A sample of a noodle product with meat is seen in a laboratory ready to be DNA-tested on February 19, 2013 in Berlin. German authorities announced that 24 samples out of 360 official tests carried out on meat had revealed traces of horsemeat as the scandal of horse mislabeled as beef spread across Europe. Horsemeat in "beef" dishes has now been confirmed in products found in Britain, Ireland, France, Austria, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
Samples of minced meat are seen in the food control laboratory institute Eurofins in Ebersberg, near Munich on February 18, 2013. The samples of minced meat are tested for the presence of horse meat as a precaution. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
Samples of a noodle product with meat are seen in a laboratory to be DNA-tested on February 19, 2013 in Berlin. German authorities announced that 24 samples out of 360 official tests carried out on meat had revealed traces of horsemeat as the scandal of horse mislabeled as beef spread across Europe. Horsemeat in "beef" dishes has now been confirmed in products found in Britain, Ireland, France, Austria, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
France's Social and Solidarity Economy junior minister Benoit Hamon (R) and Agriculture, Food Processing Industry and Forests Minister Stephane Le Foll answer questions after a news conference in Paris on February 11, 2013. The British unit of frozen foods group Findus began recalling its beef lasagna last week on advice from its French supplier, Comigel, and the French and British governments have since vowed to punish those found responsible for allowing horsemeat originating from Romania to be sold as beef. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
Horses stand near a truck during the early morning hours at the Skaryszew horse fair on February 18, 2013. Polish animal rights campaigners heckled traders at one of Europe's biggest horse-trading fairs on Monday to try to prevent them from selling the animals for meat. Horse breeders have been coming to the open-air fair on the same day every year for the past three centuries, but the tradition is under pressure from activists and, this year, from concern about the Europe-wide trade in horse meat. REUTERS/Peter Andrews
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