An ABC investigation claimed Aussies may have unknowingly eaten horse meat sold as beef and lamb mince, metal shavings in bread, or mouse fur in food products.
But the beef and lamb mince claims have been slammed as false.
The broadcaster said NSW Greens politician Abigail Boyd used parliamentary powers to force the Authority to produce evidence of serious food safety breaches.
‘There were a lot of instances of things being found in food that shouldn’t be there. For example, mouse fur,’ she told ABC’s Four Corners on Monday.
‘You could be eating a minced horse when you think you’re eating your mince… that’s pretty shocking for the average person.
‘There were metal shavings found in bread products… products that were supposed to be dairy-free, that were not dairy-free, [which] were only caught by accident because somebody happened to put it together after their child or they themselves got sick, not because the company had worked it out.’
But the NSW Food Authority has lashed the broadcaster for ‘false claims’ and categorically denied the presence of the untoward meats.
‘The NSW Food Authority has not found horse meat in beef, lamb or any food for human consumption,’ it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Aussies may have unknowingly eaten horse meat in products sold as beef and lamb mince
‘This claim is misleading and not correct. There is no evidence to suggest as in the headline or first paragraph of this article [and linked the article from the ABC].
‘The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) requests the ABC immediately corrects its media stories online, on radio and any on TV or social media regarding false claims of “horse meat detected in Australian food”.’
A spokesperson for the food authority said it conducts random surveillance testing on meat products for species identification.
‘There has been no incident of horse meat being found in products for human consumption,’ they said.
‘Horse meat is permitted to be sold as food provided it is processed in a licensed abattoir.
‘There are no abattoirs in NSW licensed to process horse meat for human consumption.’
The ABC’s report was not the first time the existence of horse meat in beef products has been reported.
In 2013, a major investigation was launched in the UK after horse meat was found in beef lasagna and burgers.
‘You could be eating a minced horse when you think you’re eating your mince… that’s pretty shocking for the average person,’ NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd said
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The Four Corners investigation also claimed horse meat is still being found in beef products around the world, prompting experts to call for an Australian-based food fraud unit to be launched to test food products.
These units already operate in Europe, the United States and Canada.
According to the ABC, the documents also show hundreds of NSW businesses, including aged care homes, hospitals and catering companies, were issued repeated notices for food safety breaches between 2022 and 2026.
The breaches included examples of poor hygiene, expired food, and failures to report dangerous bacteria and control food temperatures, with those most vulnerable, like the elderly and children, most at risk.
Some of NSW’s largest aged care homes were reportedly repeat offenders, including Catholic Healthcare which looks after over 3,000 residents across 41 locations in NSW and southeast Queensland.
The aged care giant was reportedly issued three improvement notices at three facilities in Hunters Hill, Mullumbimby and Dubbo between 2023 and 2024.
Mercy Health and Aged Care’s Albury facility, Mercy Hospital, and three Uniting aged care facilities in Eden, Hamlyn Terrace and Lane Cove were also issued improvement notices.
It comes after ABC’s investigation also found dozens of tomato paste and passata products in Aussie supermarkets failed to match the country of origin stated on their labels.
Of the 221 processed tomato items from 39 brands, their researched found dozens of products that claim to be from Australia or Italy are actually from China, with among half sourced from Xinjiang – an area known for its use of forced labour.
Among the products listed were Leggo’s tomato paste, Coles Italian tomato paste and Aldi’s home brand Remano paste.
The ABC reports Coles and Aldi both rejected the test results.
Daily Mail has contacted the NSW Food Safety Authority for comment.
