Horse Meat On US Menus? USDA Set To Approve Slaughter House

While Europe struggles with a scandal over horse meat being surreptitiously added to food there, the United States might be getting back in the business of producing horse meat for human consumption — provided the Department of Agriculture approves inspectors for a New Mexico horse slaughtering plant.

The Valley Meat Company, which owns the Roswell, N.M.-based horse slaughtering facility, sued the USDA and its Food Safety and Inspection Service last fall, alleging there was a lack of inspection services for horses sent to the slaughter in the US, forcing the horses to be slaughtered in Mexico and Canada, where standards are inhuman.

Horse Meat Found in IKEA Meatballs

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn meatballs from sale in at least 15 European countries after horse meat was found in the product by Czech authorities, the company said Monday.

The spiraling scandal that has hit several countries in Europe and spread to Asia broke out in January when horse DNA was detected in beef burgers in Britain and Ireland where horse meat consumption is taboo.

PETA Victory! Kentucky Bans Race-Day Drug For Horses

Following pressure from PETA and other groups, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has approved a plan to phase out the use of the race-day medication furosemide.  Most countries already ban the use of this performance-enhancing drugs, yet more than 90 percent of thoroughbreds in the U.S. are given the drug just hours before they race.