An international outrage has been brewing over the past week following the revelation that FINDUS brand frozen beef lasagna contained from 60 – 100% horse meat in place of beef. The product in question is available for sale in Iceland, and so local consumers were affected by the recall.
Óskar Ísfeld Sigurðsson, head of food inspection for Heilbrigðiseftirlit Reykjavíkur, has said that he does not believe that the international broo-ha-ha over the FINDUS “beef” lasagna is grounds for increased inspection of imported foods in Iceland, RÚV reports. Jóhannes Gunnarsson, chairman of the Consumers Association of Iceland, disagreed and believes this matter calls for more frequent testing and closer monitoring of imported foods.
While it may be useful to carry out more rigorous samples than is the norm today, doing so would be very costly.
This is not the first instance of questionable food products being sold in Iceland. For 13 years Icelandic company Egill Skallagrímsson had been importing industrial salt and re-selling it to be used in foods by Icelandic companies, including Sláturfélag Suðurlands, Mjólkursamsala, Kjarnafæði, Síld og fisk, Norðan fisk, and Matfugl. This was done with the knowledge and consent of the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, which may explain why it is not believed further scrutiny on food sold to consumers is needed.

Photo Credit: Sarah Pepin