Romanian Horsemeat Scandal
The Romanian prime minister has denied allegations that two abattoirs in his country sold horsemeat purported to be beef to European food companies. Victor Ponta said checks had been carried out and there had been no breach of rules and standards. The abattoirs had been linked to the contamination of processed meat products sold in Europe. UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said he spoke to his Romanian, Irish and French counterparts on Monday. He hopes to meet them and the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy Tonio Borg later this week. He is due to update the House of Commons on the scandal on Monday evening. The discovery of horsemeat in beef products has led to processed food being withdrawn from sale in Britain, France and Sweden. Mr Ponta expressed anger that his country had been blamed. "From all the data we have at the moment, there is no breach of European rules committed by companies from Romania o...