Chicken and beef found in lamb takeaways
Seven out of 20 foods from independent takeaways in Dublin city found to contain chicken and beef DNA, with some lamb kebabs not containing any lamb whatsoever
Print25 July 2014
A number of takeaway lamb kebabs and skewers in Dublin city contain chicken and beef, a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) survey has revealed.
The survey carried out in collaboration with the Health Service Executive last month, found the presence of meats other than lamb in seven of the 20 foods sampled from independent takeaway restaurants in Dublin City. The study tested for the presence of DNA from bovine, pig, sheep, goat, horse, chicken and turkey in ten kebabs and ten lamb dishes. Horse, goat, pig or turkey DNA was not found in any sample.
Six of the seven foods with undeclared meat were described on the menus/menu boards as lamb kebabs, but most of these did not contain any lamb at all or only contained lamb in very small quantities. All six lamb kebabs with undeclared meat contained over 60% chicken and 5–30% beef. In fact, only three of these six lamb kebabs were found to contain lamb, but the levels were as low as 1-5%. Finally, one of the ten lamb dishes sampled with undeclared meat – minced meat for lamb skewers – was found to contain over 60% beef and over 30% lamb.
Prof Alan Reilly, chief executive, FSAI, said that while this is not a food safety issue, the fact that undeclared meats have been identified, raises concerns about misleading consumers and not giving them the correct information about the food they are eating.
“Incorrectly listing meat products on a menu or menu board, whether inadvertently or by design, is an unacceptable infringement of the labelling legislation,” he said.
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