3/30/06 - 13:07 PM CST
Horsemeat toxin drug alert - A Report from Belfast

An article in the Irish news today raises the question about toxins in horsemeat. It reports that the Irish Department of Agriculture "has issued an alert over the presence of toxic drug in horsemeat exported from Northern Ireland for human consumption." It further describes that the "veterinary prescription drug phenylbutazone (pictured) - known as bute - had been detected in the flesh of horses" which is widely used in American horses as well.

American horses do not go through any kind of withdrawal period and are often purchased straight from a previous owner through an auction by a killer buyer. That killer buyer supplies the horses to the horse meat plants within days. The horses are often killed within hours or at least the same day.

Horse owners are generally not aware that a killer buyer bid on their horse. Most horse owners do not take a horse to auction for sale to a horse meat plant. Therefore, the horse may have been administered wormers and anti-inflammatory drugs within days before the sale. So far, the USDA has never reported to have found any toxins in horsemeat and quite frankly, that is truly strange.

The Belfast article further finds that "if more than one horse from the same producer is found to contain traces of the drug, the producer could face prosecution." Now imagine that?

Click here to read the Belfast article