Greens MP Abigail Boyd has reiterated her claims that horse meat has been found in Australian beef and lamb mince, asserting that the government is not adequately addressing food safety concerns. Boyd's allegations, which she maintains are supported by documents obtained from the NSW Food Authority, emerged during a recent ABC Four Corners investigation.
Boyd stated she obtained thousands of documents from the NSW Food Authority under a parliamentary order and that these papers revealed a "concerning number of illegal knackeries." She alleged that these facilities are responsible for the slaughter of horses, including brumbies and ex-racehorses, with their meat entering the processed meat industry, potentially as beef or lamb mince. She also cited other alleged food safety issues found in the documents, such as mouse fur in products and undeclared dairy in supposed dairy-free items.
Despite the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) denying the allegations and stating that no horse meat has been found in products intended for human consumption, Boyd remains firm. "I stand by the comments I made in the Four Corners episode," she told the Daily Mail.
Boyd indicated that she is limited in what she can publicly disclose about the documents due to confidentiality restrictions but emphasized that "in full knowledge of that, the Food Authority has not, to my knowledge, conducted a single meat speciation test." She is pursuing an independent legal review to potentially release the confidential documents.
Boyd also called for the establishment of a dedicated food fraud unit in Australia, similar to those in the United Kingdom and Canada, arguing that the NSW Food Authority is under-resourced. "The Food Authority in NSW has been shrinking and is operating with its lowest headcount in many years," she said, adding that a specialized taskforce is needed to restore public trust.
The NSW DPIRD issued a statement refuting Boyd's claims, urging the ABC to correct what it termed "false claims of horse meat found in food products." A spokesperson for the department stated that the NSW Food Authority regularly conducts surveillance testing for species identification and has found no instances of horse meat in food for human consumption. The department noted that while horse meat can be sold if processed in a licensed abattoir, no such facilities exist in NSW for meat intended for human consumption. DPIRD highlighted a recent case involving an illegal knackery in regional NSW, where meat was processed for pet food, primarily for the greyhound industry. The operator of that facility was fined $12,000 and ordered to pay $30,000 in costs.