Where’s the beef?

Europe’s horsemeat scandal is spreading and threatening cross-border tensions, as France says Romanian butchers and Dutch and Cypriot traders were part of a supply chain that resulted in horsemeat disguised as beef being sold in frozen lasagna around the continent. But the scandal is also raising questions about what exactly is in processed meat products. No one has reported health risks from the mislabeled meat, but it has unsettled consumers across Europe.

Economy beefburger

47% Beef

Under European law, the term “meat” is defined as “skeletal muscle with naturally included or adherent fat and connective tissue” which has not been mechanically stripped from the carcass. Any meat that has been pressure-blasted from the carcass must be listed separately as MRM (mechanically removed) or MSM (mechanically stripped) meat. MRM meat or paste can in theory be used in economy burgers but has to be listed as a separate ingredient.

10% Onion

Used as a binder and flavouring. Approximately 30 per cent of onions grown are sold in the vegetable sections of stores. The rest are used in industrial and commercial food processing operations.

3.5% Cellulose

This is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured into cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose or other forms. It is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The US Department of Agriculture, which regulates meats, has set a limit of 3.5 per cent on the use of cellulose, since fibre in meat products cannot be recognised nutritionally.

25% Rusk

Dry biscuit particles are used as a binder and to carry flavours, colours and seasonings.

10% Water

Used to moisten the constituent products and maintain the shape of the patty when frozen.

2,5% Soya Protein Isolate

Soy protein isolate is made from defatted soy flour which has had most of the nonprotein components, fats and carbohydrates removed. Because of this, it has a neutral flavour and will cause less flatulence due to bacterial fermentation.

2% Other

These include salt, onion powder, sugar, barley malt extract, garlic powder, white pepper extract, celery extract and onion extract.

Pink slime

The phrase “pink slime” was first used by a former USDA microbiologist, Gerald Zirnstein, who used the term in a 2002 email to co-workers after having toured a meat processing plant. The product is made out of scraps and fatty trimmings that, for years, typically had been sold off to make pet food or cooking oils because it was too difficult to remove the meat and was somewhat susceptible to contamination from food-bourne pathogens such as salmonella and E.coli O157:H7.

In general, a heat and centrifuge process melts the fat, which is collected and mashed. This is then sprayed with ammonia hydroxide to remove possible bacteria and pathogens. The final product — which is formed into blocks, frozen and shipped in boxes — is relatively low in fat and often used as a cheap filler.

Tainted food or beverages

February 2013: Supermarket chains in several European countries including Britain and France withdraw lasagne and other frozen meals after tests show dishes sold as pure beef contained horsemeat. Earlier in the year, fast-food chain Burger King says it will stop buying meat from a supplier in Ireland after traces of horse DNA are found in some meat shipments.

September 2012: Hard liquor sales are banned in the Czech Republic for almost two weeks following the death of 26 people who drank spirits laced with methanol. Neighbouring Slovakia and Poland also introduce import bans of Czech spirits over the scare.

December 2010: Dioxin-laden fats intended for industrial use are mistakenly mixed into animal feed by a company in Germany, forcing the temporary shutdown of thousands of farms selling eggs and meat domestically as well as to other EU countries, China, South Korea and Russia.

Summer 2011: Around 50 people die in Germany in an outbreak of E coli which causes kidney and nerve damage. It is traced to Egyptian fenugreek seeds used to grow bean sprouts in Germany. The outbreak is initially linked to imported vegetables including lettuce and cucumbers, with cucumber growers in Spain under particular suspicion. Russia introduces a temporary import ban on all EU vegetables.

May 2011: Fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juices and other drinks, as well as nutritional supplements are destroyed in Taiwan after the carcinogenic industrial plasticiser diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) is found in them. The DEHP was mixed into clouding agents, used for example to make juice look more natural. The find resulted in warnings or products being removed from shelves in China, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United States.

2008: Six babies die and 300,000 children become ill after consuming melamine-tainted formula milk and other dairy products in China. Two men are sentenced to death and four others to life in prison for their involvement in the production of the tainted milk. The industrial chemical was added to watered down milk by some producers to artificially boost protein levels and raise profits.

— USDA, USDFA, Reuters, BBC,