As revelations over horse meat in retailers’ meat supply chains continue to spread across Europe, Tesco CEO Philip Clarke has stressed the importance of creating “world class” traceability in the products his company supplies.
Following investigations by several European governments and various internal probes by food retailers, consumers in Britain and France were told last week that Romanian horsemeat has been used in a range of meat products, prompting supermarkets and suppliers to withdraw items from the shelves.
The scandal prompted Clarke to respond with plans to review Tesco’s supply chain and open the details of it to the public. Writing on the Tesco website, Clarke has also underlined that the measures would not mean an increase in food prices.
“I have asked my team to review our approach to the supply chain, to ensure we have visibility and transparency, and to come back with a plan to build a world-class traceability and DNA testing system.
“We pledge that over the weeks and months ahead, we will open up our supply chain, and give you more information than any retailer has before to enable you to make informed choices about the food you buy for your family.”
Catherine Brown, chief executive of the government watchdog that is investigating the cause of the contamination of pre-prepared beef products with horse meet, is quoted in UK newspaper The Telegraph as saying that the industry needed to act with “more transparency and engagement”.
