Swish kebab

AN IRISH farmer who sells horse meat last night insisted there is NEIGH problem with tucking into tasty thoroughbreds.

Stallholder Paddy Hyland is ahead of the field after serving up hot nag to punters for four years.

The controversial delicacy has landed some of the country’s busiest supermarkets in manure after gee-gee was found in burgers.

Food safety chiefs revealed on Tuesday they had detected traces of nag and pig DNA in beef burgers from Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland.

Three suppliers were named — Ireland’s Silvercrest Foods and Liffey Meats and Dalepak Hambleton in the UK.

Imported additives from the Netherlands and Spain have been identified as the possible sources.

And as fury grew over Horsegate, the farmer insisted scoffing stallion is the way to go.

Paddy, 53, told the Irish Sun: “I’ve been selling horse meat for four years and it is getting more popular. The meat is tasty and healthy. It is a very good source of iron. The problem here is that the supermarkets were trying to sell beef burgers with horse meat.

“I make it clear what I sell and it’s been going well.”

Horse steaks and skewers race off Hyland’s stall at Temple Bar market in Dublin every Saturday.

And the Laois farmer has no intention of reining in his equine cuisine business.

Paddy said: “I want to open a horse meat shop in Dublin. There’s no doubt the fillet of horse is nicer than beef.”

In France, specialist butchers operate to solely sell horse meat.

Mexico is the world’s largest producer — 78,000 tonnes in 2009.

In Mongolia, beef and mutton have become more popular, though in very cold winters many prefer horsemeat as it is not kept frozen and people believe it helps warm them up.