Burger King Admits to Horse Meat: Supplier Under Investigation

At the end of the day, Burger King may not be "having it their way," as the motto goes.

One of BK's supplier's, ABP Food Group's Irish subsidiary, Silvercrest, came under recent investigation for selling beef products that were potentially tainted with horse meat.

After testing for traces of equine DNA in its beef patties, there was horse meat found in the product.

Though Burger King is based in Miami, they launched an ongoing campaign to further investigate Irish suppliers' facilities, where more equine DNA in meat was discovered.

As of Jan. 24, the chain said it would no longer carry products from ABP Food Group's Irish subsidiary, Silvercrest, to supply its locations in Britain and Ireland. Following the decision, they said that all deliveries would be replaced from another supplier known as a "voluntary and precautionary measure."

At that time, Silvercrest was currently approved to supply meat products in Burger Kings throughout Ireland, Britain and Denmark. However, as a result, some Burger King menu items went temporarily missing until they could be replaced by a new supplier.

"While the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has stated that this is not a food safety issue, we are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologize to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100% beef burgers," Diego Beamonte, Burger King's global quality vice president said in a statement.  "Our supplier has failed us and in turn we have failed you. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again."

It has been reported that several other major food retailers also purchased meat from Silvercrest.

The supermarket Tesco also apologized earlier this month to customers after learning that some of its products had been contaminated with horse meat.