New horse meat scandal; meat sold as beef came from dozens of horses used by a French pharmaceutical firm.

New horse meat scandal hits Holland, meat sold as beef came from dozens of horses used by a French pharmaceutical firm.HT: Telegraph.

The Dutch food authorities have issued an official recall for up to 11,000 kilos (24,000lb) of horse meat that was illegally sold as beef in Holland last year.

The horse meat came from 200 slaughtered animals originating in equestrian riding centres, pharmaceutical laboratories and private owners in France and entered the food chain at the height of an international scandal in 2013.

Included in the fraud was meat from dozens of horses that were used by a French pharmaceutical firm, Sanofi Pasteur, to develop serums against rabies and other diseases.

The meat, unfit for human consumption and accompanied by fake documents labelling it as beef, was delivered to five Dutch companies via Belgium between January and October last year.

The latest fraud involving 200 horse carcases was only discovered on 27 Dec 2013 after an investigation by officials from the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).Read the full story here.