(AFP) – The owner of an abattoir embroiled in the horsemeat scandal has a deal to dispose of horses fatally injured in the world-renowned Grand National race, the racecourse said on Thursday.
Peter Boddy, whose slaughterhouse was raided by the Food Standards Agency on Tuesday, removes the carcasses of some horses which have been put down during the meeting, Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool said.
The racecourse said it was “confident” that no “unfit meat” had ever entered the food chain.
It is alleged that Boddy’s plant in West Yorkshire supplied horse carcasses to a food processing plant in Wales where operations have also been suspended.
They are the first suppliers in Britain suspected of passing off horsemeat as beef.
A spokesman for Aintree said the racing industry took every possible measure to ensure that horses put down after they are injured in races cannot enter the food chain.
“Aintree Racecourse follow these guidelines to the letter and can confirm that Peter Boddy… is contracted by Aintree to remove carcasses if required.”
Aintree added: “By the time these carcasses are returned to the disposal organisation’s premises they are totally unsuitable for consumption.”
“They are fully signed off as unsuitable.”
“Indeed it is illegal for horses humanely put down by injection on the racecourse to enter the food chain.”
“We are as confident as we possibly can be that no unfit meat ever reaches the human food chain.”
During last year’s Grand National race, joint favorite Synchronised and According to Pete were both put down following falls, and four horses died at the meeting in 2011.
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