Horsemeat scandal hits poorest hardest says Hackney MP

Concerned: Diane Abbott, Shadow Health Minister and MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington

Local MP Diane Abbott raised concerns this week about the impact of the horsemeat scandal on poorer groups in the borough.

Speaking Tuesday (12 February) in Parliament, Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Shadow Minister for Public Health, noted that parents were concerned about possible horsemeat in the food they prepare for their children: “There are mums—and dads, too—hovering over the frozen food cabinets of their corner shops, supermarkets or favourite frozen food stores, looking at their favourite processed meat product and saying, ‘Is this what it says it is? Is it even safe?’.”

Ms Abbott called on the Government to take responsibility for the horsemeat issue, pointing out that the mislabelling of meat disproportionately affects poorer residents: “Who, really, is eating £1 lasagne and so-called value burgers? Who buys those things, except the very poorest in communities such as mine?

“Often they feed them to children. I hear people saying, ‘Oh, you’d have to eat an awful lot of these things for there to be any discernible effect on your health,’ but I put it to Ministers, who might not be aware of this, that there are families in communities such as mine who eat an awful lot of cheap, processed food. They deserve absolute assurances about its quality.

“A fundamental issue arising from the horsemeat scandal is the price of cheap food. All along the food chain, relentless pressure has been exerted for decades to drive down costs at the farm gate, and at production, manufacturing and retail levels. There are obviously sections of the British community who cannot afford expensive products, but the main pressure on costs comes from the massive retail chains.”

Hackney Council has not been able to allay concerns over possible horsemeat in the borough’s school meals, as catering is outsourced at many local authority-maintained educational establishments.

But according to the Children’s Food Trust, a charity that encourages balanced school diets, food standards restrict the use of processed meat products and economy burgers are prohibited from the menu.

The Town Hall has been able to reassure parents that meat served in children’s centres under its management is of known origin.

Cllr Rita Krishna, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “The catering service at the children’s centres under the management of the Council is run by a company who use only fresh meat that is locally sourced and Farm Assured”.

Though there is no clear evidence that horsemeat poses any greater health risk than beef, there has been a popular backlash in recent weeks against meat being incorrectly labelled in some consumer products.

Diets containing red meat of all kinds have, however, been linked to higher rates of cancer and heart disease.