Horsemeat and buying local

Image from the Cambridge (UK) News.

In the wake of the horsemeat scandal in Europe, where horsemeat sourced from Eastern Europe has made it into food products, like lasagna or Ikea's Swedish Meatballs, sold across the continent, many UK butchers are seeing an increase in business.  See "Horse meat scandal: how to make the butcher your best friend" from the Daily Telegraph and "Horsemeat scandal boosts business for Hackney's independent butchers" from the Hackney Citizen.

Meatinfo reports, "Horsemeat: Majority of butchers see customers increase," on a survey that finds 92% of UK butchers have experienced an increase in business since the scandal.

Although the lesson could just as easily be don't buy processed food items containing meat and stay away from hamburger (not unlike the issue in the U.S. with so-called pink slime, see "The Burger That Shattered Her Life" from the New York Times).

Of course, in France, with the publicity, local butchers specializing in horsemeat (which apparently has less fat and can be tasty) are experiencing an increase in business as well.  See "Horsemeat scandal triggers 15% rise in sales for France's equine butchers" from the Guardian and "Paris chefs kick-start a horsemeat gastro-trend" from BBC.

(Fortunately for those of us who like to eat at Ikea, their meatballs for the North American market are sourced from US-providers.)