Horsemeat scandal factory owner wins Burger King deal

Kepak Group will supply the fast-food giant’s restaurants across Ireland and the UK with Irish and British beef.

Burger King Worldwide (BKW) said the plant would undergo frequent and rigorous audits to ensure safety and quality, with the Irish government committed to ongoing inspection and testing.

This will support both Kepak’s and BKW’s independent inspection regime, it added.

Burger King’s Raj Varman said the brand was proud to bring back 100 per cent Irish and British beef to its restaurants.

“Our partnership with Kepak means that our guests can continue to have every confidence in the provenance and high quality of the locally sourced and great-tasting burgers they enjoy at our restaurants,” the senior vice-president and general manager for Burger King, North West Europe, added.

The former Silvercrest facility belonged to the ABP Food group, which was owned by beef magnate Larry Goodman, until it was sold to Kepak last month.

The deal was approved by Ireland’s Competition Authority yesterday.

Some 122 employees at the plant in Ballybay, County Monaghan, who have been on full pay for the past three months after production was suspended, have transferred to the new owners.

ABP has always maintained there was never any evidence of horsemeat contamination with its Burger King products as they were manufactured on an independent line and stored separately at the site.

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s agriculture minister, said: “This is an endorsement of the high-quality product that we are best in the world at producing.”