Slovenia importer blames Luxembourg firm for horsemeat scandal

Croatian company Ledo, which imported beef lasagne containing horsemeat into Slovenia, on Wednesday accused Luxembourg producer Tavola of responsibility.

“Tavola breached our agreement by adding components (horsemeat) without our knowledge,” Stefan Mioc, the head of Ledo’s subsidiary in Slovenia, told private POP TV.

He added the company had already taken off the shelves most of the “beef” lasagne distributed in Slovenia and was considering legal steps against Tavola, a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of French food producer Comigel.

Slovenian veterinary authorities on Tuesday said they had found traces of horsemeat in frozen lasagne distributed by a supermarket chain in Slovenia and produced by a Luxembourg company.

POP TV news reported on Wednesday the level of horsemeat in the “beef” lasagne exceeded one percent of the total meat used.

This is the first case of horsemeat detected in the eurozone country since the horsemeat scandal erupted in several European countries earlier this month.