A former meat inspector in New Caledonia has revealed that four years ago a butcher in the territory's north was found to have sold beef, which on analysis turned out to be 100 percent horse meat.
This has been disclosed in today's edition of the territory's only daily newspaper.
The paper says the matter went to court and a butcher in Koumac was convicted for deception, but the relevant authorities chose not to issue a warning to the general public.
The issue came to light when inspectors noticed an unusual sweet smell in an empty freezer.
Discussions with farmers and butchers reportedly yielded nothing but checking small restaurants, a suspicious looking piece of beef was found.
It was sent to France for analysis and found to be from a horse.
