Speaking to the UK Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee this week, ex-commercial director of Northern Irish firm Freeza Meats James Fairbairn said he also believed the fraud had been taking place over a long period of time, and that the contamination was likely to be of European, not Irish or UK, origin.
“The volumes [of horsemeat] required to make it worthwhile wouldn’t be in Ireland,” he said.
Asked his opinion on why the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) tested for horse DNA, Fairbairn said he believed the agency has been acting on information from a whistleblower.
“I’m talking my opinion, and it had to be a whistleblower. They headed straight for Silvercrest and equalised that by going to Liffey Meats. Why didn’t they test for seagulls?” he said.
Freeza Meats lost a £2.5m contract and was forced to terminate 31 jobs as a result of the scandal and Fairbairn predicted the meat industry would take a long time to fully recover from the scandal. Reflecting on how the industry might protect against similar fraud in the future, he said that extra controls would be put in place. “Every consignment of beef taken in the future will have species tests,” he said.
However, when pushed on how complete traceability could be guaranteed, he said “I don’t know, short of putting armed guards on these installations,” adding that if someone wanted to commit fraud, then it would happen.