Large quantities of frozen chicken imported into Ireland and Britain after being doctored in the Netherlands with beef protein powder present a risk of BSE, the Guardianreported today.
The beef proteins are added to make the chicken absorb extra water, adding weight and thus profits, the newspaper said. Thai and Brazilian chicken breasts have been adulterated in this way in the Netherlands before being imported into Britain for at least five years, it said.
The report comes after a report by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in May found some chicken fillets imported into the State were found to contain cattle and pig proteins. The FSAI report pointed the finger at Dutch firms Lelie, Vrieskoop and de Kippenhof.
Authorities have admitted that the presence of beef proteins could present a risk of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow" disease, the Guardiansaid.
The authorities had been aware of the problem since 1997, but DNA tests enabling detection of the beef proteins in chicken had been developed only recently, the paper said.
Lelie's quality manager Ronald Buis acknowledged that the proteins injected into his chicken came from beef, but he stressed that "all the animals are checked by the government in Holland, or they were checked by some other government".
De Kippenhof, questioned by the Guardian, declined to comment while a spokesman for Vrieskoop said only protein from chicken was used in his poultry.
AFP