French meat firm Spanghero restarts operations with new name
2013-07-31 13:04:40
Spanghero, the French meat processor that was linked to the horsemeat contamination scandal in Europe earlier this year, has re-opened with a new name - La Lauragaise.
The company has been renamed after the region where it is located - in southeast of Toulouse.
Spanghero's factory has been revamped after it was closed for more than a month. The workforce at the factory has been cut from 235 to 95.
Following the scandal, the company has a reduced client base. It has been re-launched with a new catchphrase Saveurs des terroirs, which means 'the true flavours', reported Sky.com.
Earlier this year, Spangero supplied meat to meal maker Comigel, which in turn made beef lasagne for Findus. The Findus product was found to be contaminated with horsemeat. Spanghero defended itself that it sourced the meat labelled as beef from Romania.
However, it was found that the company handled Romanian horsemeat, sold through brokers, which reached the UK supermarkets.
In March, nearly 57 tons of 'mechanically separated' mutton meat from UK was found at Spanghero's facility. The mechanically separated is banned in Europe as it may contain bone fragments and increased the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow Disease.
In response, the company blamed a British exporter for selling the product as mutton meat.