Food Safety Authority of Ireland conducted tests on a sample of frozen beefburgers sold in Irish and British supermarkets in early 2013, and announced on 15 January that the test results had revealed significant quantities of horse meat in several of the products tested. The findings triggered the 2013 meat adulteration scandal, which involved several major food retailers and suppliers in the United Kingdom, France and other European countries. Food Safety Authority of Ireland The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) ( – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene standards,
2013 horse meat scandal president of Comigel, Erick Lehagre, told Agence France-Presse that the adulterated meat supplier was Spanghero, a firm owned by Lur Berri and founded in 1970 by Claude and Laurent Spanghero, two former France international rugby players. He said that Spanghero had told him that the meat was not from France, but came from a producer in Romania. On 11 February 2013 France's Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon warned it "will not hesitate" to take legal action if there is evidence companies had knowingly duped consumers. Hamon said an initial investigation by French safety authorities had found a French company Poujol