New adulterated meat scandal surfaces in Russia

Adulterated meat products have been identified in products sold by the Auchan supermarket chain in Russia, according to a government agency.

The Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) said DNA testing revealed that 15 of 17 samples taken during an unscheduled inspection of four Auchan supermarkets in Moscow found traces of other meats in products labelled as beef or pork, including kebabs.

Pig, chicken and lamb DNA was discovered in minced beef products while beef, chicken, and lamb DNA was found in pork products, according to the agency, which also reported an earlier incident today involving horse DNA in ground pork.

This allows us to make the conclusion that meat is being falsified by switching one type of meat with another, less expensive type," said the Rosselkhoznadzor in a statement on their website (in Russian).

Auchan's director for external communication, Maria Kurnosova, told the Interfax news agency that at present the company is not aware of which products are involved in the investigation but indicated it does not use horsemeat in any of its meat lines.

The company has suggested the problem may originate from a supplier and said it is starting an internal probe into the incidents.

The 2013 horsemeat scandal in the UK and 12 other EU countries - in which horse DNA was discovered in a number of food products labelled as being 100 per cent pure beef - has focused attention of regulatory authorities on the integrity of the meat supply chain.

The incident exposed widespread issues relating to mislabelling and the security of the food supply chain across Europe.