U.S. horse meat is unfit for human consumption because of the uncontrolled administration of hundreds of dangerous drugs and other substances to horses before slaughter. horses (competitions, rodeos and races), or former wild horses who are privately owned.
Horses became a taboo meat in the ancient Middle East, possibly because they were associated with companionship, royalty, and war. The Book of Leviticus rules out eating horse, and in 732 Pope Gregory III instructed his subjects to stop eating horse because it was an “impure and detestable” pagan meat.
Horse meat is commonly eaten in many countries in Europe and Asia. It is not a generally available food in some English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, the United States, and English Canada.
Few countries consider horse meat as an acceptable food, and Australia is not one of them.
-- See NCJ-122651) The 1981 discovery that horsemeat and kangaroo meat were being substituted for beef in meat exported by Australia to the United States and other countries produced widespread changes in Australian law and administration related to commodity exports.
Slaughter is a brutal and terrifying end for horses, and it is not humane. Horses are shipped for more than 24 hours at a time without food, water or rest in crowded trucks. They are often seriously injured or killed in transit.
Horses are included under the Australian Standard for the Slaughter of Livestock but the standards are dated and have very minimal animal welfare requirements.
While Aldi was indeed involved in a horse meat scandal in 2013 (see Reuters reporting here and here) the German discounter has not released any statement or confirmation of a repeat happening in 2023.
No. Aldi does not sell horse meat. The controversy surrounding Aldi and horsemeat came about when some of its beef products contained up to 100% horsemeat.
These tests revealed that the “beef” in frozen lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese, made by French manufacturer Comigel, was up to 100% horse. Comigel supplied products to Tesco, Aldi and Findus. The investigations into how horsemeat came to be in certain foods then unravelled across Europe.
China has the largest population in the world and is also the world's largest consumer of horse meat. there are not very many laws that prohibit the consumption of many types of meat, as long as there is a market for doing so. Horse meat is typically dried in China to make sausage, or served alongside signature dishes.
Horse is a versatile meat that lends itself to a variety of preparations. It has more protein, and less fat than lean beef. It tastes somewhat like a mix between beef and venison. It can be a bit sweeter than other red meats, yet still possesses a dense meat flavor with a hint of gaminess.
Although in some other countries (mainly in Asia I believe) where it's said to be more common, I think it's sometimes called fragrant meat or mutton of the earth when it's translated.
Czech authorities alerted the discount furniture maker that they had found horsemeat in a sample of meatballs, and Ikea subsequently pulled the product from stores in 14 countries.
However, at the end of the 8th century, a taboo around horsemeat developed due to attempts to standardise Christian beliefs and practices, suggests the paper. It argues that the Romans had viewed the eating of horse flesh as 'pagan' and this view was incorporated into the early teachings of the Catholic Church.
Horses, mules and donkeys
In both Sunni and Shia hadith the meat of mules is prohibited but horse meat is allowed in Sunni sources. Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: "On the day of Khaibar, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the eating of donkey meat and allowed the eating of horse meat."
Although horses were commonly used in pet food years ago, it fell out of favor when the public began to think of horses as domestic pets rather than beasts of burden. Today, no pet food or animal feed company of any repute would dare use or list horsemeat as an ingredient.
Canned dog food, “Ken-L Ration,” was introduced in 1922. Its main ingredient was horsemeat, which was considered an acceptable ingredient source at the time. Our understanding of and relationship with horses has since evolved, and as they have become pets, there is no longer a market for horse meat.
Evanger's blamed meat from a human-grade supplier for the dog food recall, but FDA disputed the supplier's status and found production safety risks. Horse meat and a deadly drug were found in cans of recalled Evanger's Hunk of Beef dog food, but how they got there remains a mystery.
All our Woolworths cattle are sourced directly from Australian farms by one of our experienced livestock team. 100% of our Woolworths cattle spend the beginning of their lives on farms out at grass, ensuring that all of our Woolworths cattle have access to pasture-based enrichment during their lives.
Your palate isn't so discerning, as many unwitting European carnivores have discovered. There's a consensus that horse meat is softer, sweeter, leaner, and even milder than beef.
Follow our products from farm to store
Coles livestock team work with farmers from approximately 150 farms all across Australia to source GRAZE beef cattle. Farms meet the Coles Grass Fed Standards for cattle health and welfare, as well as have full lifetime traceability for every animal.
Horses were physically examined for brands to determine their origin and age: 60% were less than 8 years old. Around 9,000 horses are currently slaughtered in abattoirs each year and this study suggests that around half of these may be ex-racehorses.
Approximately 2,000 tonnes of horse meat is exported from Australia for human consumption in Japan and Europe annually (ABS figures). Over 25,000 horses per year are killed in this way in Australia.
According to official data promoted by Racing Australia, the national body for thoroughbred racing, less than 1 per cent of horses retiring each year end up at an abattoir. This represents around 34 horses per year ending up at slaughterhouses, according to the racing industry.