Shutting the stable door after the horse (on phenylbutazone) has bolted

摘要

In this issue of The Veterinary Journal, two distinguished veterinary pharmacologists, Peter Lees and Pierre-Louis Toutain, combine resources to provide a topical and important review on the pharmacology, toxicology and residues of phenylbutazone in human beings and horses (Lees and Toutain, 2013). It is timely because of the recent European scandal that broke in January 2013 when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported the presence of horse DNA in some beef burger products, rightly raising concerns in relation to the traceability of meat ingredients and products entering the food chain.1 Of 27 beef burger products analysed, ten (37%) were positive for horse DNA and 23 (85%) positive for pig DNA. This was soon followed by the discoveryin the UK of horse meat in a wide range of frozen supermarket meals that were supposed to contain beef or pork, including meatballs, burgers, kebabs, lasagne, pizza, ravioli, empanadas and meat pies. It soon became clear that consumers had been badly misled by an appalling lack of proper controls by governments and retail outlets, and callous commercial exploitation by some source suppliers.