British supermarket chain Tesco drops Irish supplier over horsemeat-contaminated burgers
LONDON - Britain's biggest supermarket chain says it is dropping a firm that supplied it with beef burgers contaminated with horsemeat.
Tesco says burgers from Ireland-based Silvercrest contained meat from an unauthorized supplier that came from outside the U.K. and Ireland, in violation of the grocer's policy.
Tesco called the issue a breach of trust and said in a statement Wednesday it would no longer buy products from Silvercrest.
The British and Irish food industries have been shaken by the discovery earlier this month of horse DNA in burgers supplied to several major retailers.
Silvercrest, which is owned by ABP Food Group, shut down its production line and recalled 10 million burgers from supermarket shelves.
Irish food authorities say they have traced the contamination to an ingredient from Poland.
