Horse meat, pork found in beef patties at Maison du Rti

A butcher shop in Montreal'sPlateau-Mont-Royal borough has been adding horsemeatto hamburgerpatties advertised as being entirely madeof beef.

An investigation by Radio-Canada has found burger patties advertised as being 100 per cent beef fromLa Maison du Rti on Mont-Royal Avenue were mixed with both horsemeat and pork.

• CBC INVESTIGATES|Grocerystore secrets: Best-before dates tampered with, workers claim
• Chicken products falsely labelled organic, ex-employee at poultry farm says

One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, told Radio-Canada that it was common practice.

"I often helped chop up meat to make burgers and to also make sausages," the employee said. "They asked me each time to add horse and sometimes pork."

'I will find a solution'

DNA testing carried out at Trent University found that the beef patties, marketed as entirely made of beef by Maison du Rti, contained between 37 and 46 per cent horse meat. Radio-Canada tested beef patties bought on May 9 and May 16, 2016.

Beef accounted for about 38 to 53 per cent of the patty, and pork made up anywhere between seven and 18 per cent.

• Horsemeat found in Ikea meatballs in Europe

The investigation also found that merguezsausages from the butcher, advertisedas being made with beef and lamb, alsohad horsemeat and pork mixed in.

OwnerMichelLegrandsaid he wasn't aware that employees were adding horse meat and pork to the company's beef patties. He added that employees didn't want to mislead their customers.

"I will find a solution,"Legrandtold Radio-Canada. "I will make sure to fix this mistake immediately."

This kind of meat combination and false advertisingis more commonthan people think, according toSarah Berger-Richardson,who studies food law and policy atMcGillUniversity.

"A lot of people are buying food, meat and fish that they think is one thing and it's not," Berger-Richardson said.

In Montreal, businesses that mislead customers regarding the composition of food are subject to fines ranging from$500 to $9,000.

TheMaisonduRtiemploys close to 95 people and supplies meat to over 400 hotels, institutions and restaurants, according to itswebsite.

It says it has changed its ways since being confronted with the results of the Radio-Canada investigation.