When talking about horse meat and its consumption, we are getting into delicate territory for many reasons, and while it’s completely normal in some places such as China, Japan, and Australia, others have put a lot of regulations when it comes to purchasing this type of meat.
That said, many others have banned its consumption for a few reasons with different origins, these ranges anywhere from pagan backgrounds, to animal abuse and even being unfit to consume due to all the drugs and the general process of preparing a horse for its consumption.
This may make you wonder if Aldi partakes in any of these in any of the countries where they have stores, so let’s cover all of this and more in this article.
Does Aldi Sell Horse Meat?
At the moment, Aldi does not sell horse meat. However, there is a very well-known scandal that took place back in 2013 in Europe regarding horse meat., One of Aldi’s suppliers, Comigel, was found guilty of tricking people into believing that the meat they were selling and consumed by customers was beef, when in fact it was 100% horse meat.
This was a big scandal that included several lawsuits as well as an understandable outrage by customers not just from Aldi, but all the stores that received meat from Comigel.
After the tests on Aldi’s products showed that there was 100% horse meat in their beef products Aldi had this to say:
This is completely unacceptable and like other affected companies, we feel angry and let down by our supplier. If the label says beef, our customers expect it to be beef.
It’s safe to say that, while it was easy to blame the stores at the time, Aldi, as well as other affected companies, were also victims of this fraud.
Besides its consumption being taboo, there is also the issue with phenylbutazone, which is a drug that is used to treat horses, and that can be very harmful to humans.
According to CNN:
While horse meat is not itself a food safety hazard, food inspectors are concerned it may contain the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or “bute,” commonly used to treat horses. Meat from animals treated with phenylbutazone may pose a risk to human health and is not allowed to enter the food chain as it may pose a risk to human health.
The reach was also quite big, and while it didn’t get to the US a lot of countries were affected by Comigel’s actions:
The revelations have revolted many meat eaters in the United Kingdom, where horse meat is generally considered taboo, although it is commonly eaten in neighboring France, as well as countries including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Italy.
After such a big event filled with lawsuits, front pages, and protests, you shouldn’t have to worry about finding horse meat at Aldi, they didn’t want to sell it before and they won’t start now.
If you want to know more about Horse meat in Aldi, as well as its availability and history in the US, keep reading…
Does Aldi Sell Horse Meat in the US?
Aldi doesn’t sell horse meat in their stores in the US and was not affected by the 2013 horse meat scandal.
Even if a store wanted to sell horse meat, there are a few reasons why the US won’t allow it.
First, there is the cultural and historical significance that has always been present for every citizen of the US, as well as all the taboo surrounding this topic. However are there any laws about it?
It is not illegal to eat horse meat in the US however, it is not legal to sell horses for commercial consumption, which largely prevents the idea of a market developing around horse meat. Some laws explicitly prohibit the slaughter and sale of horses for consumption.
While this wasn’t always the case, in 2005 there was a movement by animal rights activists that caused a series of events including the FSIS not getting funds to inspect horses that were going to be consumed, this also caused a chain reaction, as it illegal to sell food that hasn’t been inspected.
The USDA also took action and banned all the horse meat that came from other countries, however, it’s still legal for people in the US to ship horses to other countries.
All these laws and regulations come from three big reasons why we shouldn’t consume horse meat:
- They may contain drugs that are harmful to humans
- Horses have had a very important part in the US history as well as its culture, which makes it hard to consider them food
- Some religions don’t allow the consumption of horses.
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Conclusion…
If you were concerned about your favorite grocery store selling horse meat, then you can rest assured, that they don’t. You won’t find any type of horse meat in any Aldi store, and even if there was an event where a supplier sent horse meat to Aldi and other stores in Europe, this served as an incentive to improve further regulations for various types of meat.
While it’s not 100% illegal to consume horse meat in the US you will find that the laws make it extremely difficult, if not impossible for you to do it, whether it’s for cultural reasons, religion, or health, you won’t be seeing horse meat being sold at stores any time soon.