Assurances have been sought by Northamptonshire County Council about the source of the beef used in its school dinners following the recent horse meat scandal.
A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said today it had asked for full traceability checks for the meat used in the school dinners provided to primary and secondary schools in the county.
The spokesman said: “We oversee the production of 14,000 school meals in primary and secondary schools each day.
“In light of recent food industry findings about the contamination of beef with horse meat, we have been in touch with our suppliers for assurances about the beef used in our schools.
“We’re pleased to report that the beef in our school meals is not supplied from sources where this contamination has been identified.
The county council spokesman said, as an added measure, the council had also asked for full traceability checks to take place on all beef sources before schools return after the half-term break.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson said today that all processed beef products were safe to eat but consumers must be prepared for more unwelcome news in the ongoing horse meat scandal.
Mr Paterson said it looked as if an “extensive” criminal conspiracy may have taken place.
The minister said reports from France suggested the problem had been pinned down to two abattoirs in Romania.
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