Birds Eye UK & IRE core product recall statement

We want to reassure you from the testing we have completed that all Birds Eye Beef Burgers, Beef Pies and Traditional Beef Dinners do not contain horse DNA. Regrettably, one product sold in Belgium, Chilli Con Carne, produced by Frigilunch N.V., has tested positive for horse DNA. In accordance with our high standards, we are immediately withdrawing this product from sale in Belgium.

As a precautionary measure in the UK and Ireland we will withdraw all other beef products produced by the same supplier, namely Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese 340g, Shepherd’s Pie 400g and Beef Lasagne 400g.

Since the first discovery of horsemeat in some beef products produced by a number of manufactures and retailers, we have been DNA testing all our own beef products.

Regrettably, we have found one product, Chilli Con Carne, produced for us by Frigilunch N.V., sold in Belgium has tested positive for horse DNA at 2%. Whilst this is not a food safety issue, it is clearly unacceptable. In accordance with our high standards, we are immediately withdrawing this product from sale in Belgium.

As a precautionary measure, we will withdraw all other beef products from this supplier. The withdrawn products will not be replaced on supermarket shelves until we have finished our investigations and have complete confidence in this supplier.

The following products are being withdrawn in the UK and Ireland:

• Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese 340g
• Shepherd’s Pie 400g
• Beef Lasagne 400g

If you have any question or have any of these products at home please contact our Careline on 0800 917 5410 (or from the Republic of Ireland call 1850 298 398) for a full refund.

We want to reassure you that there is no evidence from our DNA testing and audit programme that any other Birds Eye products are mislabelled. The quality of our food is of the utmost importance to us. We know that our consumers rely on us to be certain that they are eating only what is labelled on the packaging and that they can always rely on us to act responsibly.

We have introduced an on-going DNA testing programme and we have enhanced our normal quality assurance procedures. This will help us ensure that we continue to reach the standards that all our consumers expect from our products.

We want to apologise to you and reassure you that we will keep you fully informed and that we are taking action to deal with this issue.