Nestle is increasing quality and safety checks down its supply chain after the world’s largest food group was forced to recall three products contaminated with horsemeat.
A spokesperson for the food industry giant told just-food this morning (20 February) that Nestle’s laboratories are working at “full capacity” to test meat products and raw materials.
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“We have always had a comprehensive system of quality assurance in place, ensuring there are numerous checks throughout the value chain with a particular focus on assuring food safety and quality compliance. To do so we have in place auditing systems and quality control systems including analytical tests. We are now adding new tests for horse DNA, in all beef materials supplied to us,” the spokesperson explained.
“We are scaling up the testing facilities to meet our new commitment to test every single batch of beef raw material that we receive from our suppliers for horse DNA. We will not sell any product containing beef unless that beef has been tested.”
Nestle announced on Monday it is recalling its Buitoni beef ravioli and beef tortellini products on sale in Spain and Italy because tests showed that the lines contained more than 1% horse DNA. The firm’s foodservice unit, Nestle Professional, is also recalling Lasagnes à la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen meat product made in France.
The company revealed the affected meat was supplied by German company HJ Schypke. Nestle has stopped shipping all finished products containing meat from this supplier.
“The actions being taken to deal with this issue will result in higher standards and enhanced traceability,” the spokesperson insisted.
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