A LEADING consumer association has warned that at least two brands of burgers sold in mainstream supermarkets contain horsemeat.
Although safe for consumption, the burgers do not advertise what is actually in them, since many people would choose not to eat them if they knew they contained horsemeat.
These were on sale in Eroski and Alipende.
Furthermore, the prices of many burgers are very high in relation to the quality, says the organisation, OCU.
The consumer group examined 20 different brands and found that 16 of them contained between 23 and 25 grams of fat per 100 grams of burger, which is very high and means the quantity of lean mean therein is limited.
On average, per 100 grams of burger, they contained 200 calories.
Also, they were bulked out with tendon and cartilage, rather than quality meat.
Salt content was well above the recommended level of one per cent, meaning one burger may already provide far in excess of the healthy daily quantity of sodium, an excess of which can cause or aggravate high blood-pressure and kidney problems.
Worryingly for consumers, says the OCU, is that sulphite levels in 16 of 20 brands of burgers were excessive.
One burger contained 90 per cent of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of sulphite for a child, which means if they added ketchup or mustard, they would overdose on it in just one meal – and an average adult would overdose on sulphite by eating two burgers.
Only five of the 20 burgers passed the test, which came under the brands of Raza Nostra, Roler and Martínez Loriente.
The OCU has called for investigations into how horsemeat ended up in beef burgers, and for better monitoring and labelling of these.
All burgers should clearly state the percentage of meat, and which type – carne vacuno or ternera being beef.
Those who wish to avoid eating horsemeat by mistake should discard any which claim to contain carne de caballo
