Group had turnover of €391m in 2011

Company profile:Dawn Fresh Foods, the food company that has been linked to the horse meat scandal, is part of the Arrow Group, which had a turnover in 2011 of €391 million, according to its latest accounts.

Dawn Fresh Foods has said that horse DNA has been found in one of the products produced by Oak Farm Foods, the trading name it uses in the UK.

Cottage pies produced by Oak Farm Foods were withdrawn from schools by Lancashire County Council last week after they were found to contain horse meat. A spokesman for the group would not say where the meat concerned came from.

Turnover up

The latest accounts for the Arrow Group show that turnover increased by 11 per cent during 2011, and that it made a pre-tax profit of €3 million.

In addition to meat processing and meat trading, the group produces a range of food and beverage products and pet foods. It is also involved in property development.

The group owns QK Cold Stores in Naas.

On Friday, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said QK Cold Stores had told his department it had found horse DNA in a consignment of frozen beef trimmings imported from Poland.

The directors of Waterford Business Park-based Arrow Group Ltd during 2011 were John, Peter and Michael Queally, all with addresses in Co Waterford. The group employed an average of 1,583 workers during 2011, at a cost of €57.3 million. At the end of 2011 it had shareholders’ funds of €86 million.

Arrow Group Ltd has 19 shareholders, most of whom are members of the Queally family. Dawn Fresh Foods was established in 1984 and is based in Fethard, Co Tipperary. The company has no links to Dawn Meats.