Popular horse meat pie pulled from Auckland bakery after council concerns

An Auckland bakery has pulled a much-loved pie from its warmer after Auckland Council raised concerns about unapproved animal meat being used.

Pakuranga Bakery’s lo‘i hoosi pie - inspired by the traditional Tongan dish and made with horse meat - disappeared from shelves after it was revealed the meat hadn’t been cleared for human consumption.

The pie had built up a big fan base in the lead-up to Christmas, with customers hyping it up online. But despite all the love, RNZ confirmed with the bakery that the pie is no longer being sold.

Auckland Council manager of specialist operations, licensing and environmental health, Veronica Lee-Thompson, said the Council received a complaint and sent inspectors in to investigate.

“There were horse meat pies that were being sold, and the horse meat was not from a registered supplier,” she said.

She added the bakery was incredibly cooperative throughout the process, agreeing to dispose of all horse meat on site, as well as any pies containing it.

Pakuranga Bakery manager Pho Bok claims the team wasn’t preparing the meat themselves, instead buying the lo‘i hoosi filling ready-made.

“We just bought the filling, because I just saw everyone do it and all the customers have been asking for it,” Bok said.

We don’t know how to make it. We just went to buy the filling from a Tongan guy - he prepared it, and we just chucked it in a pie.

Bok added that he believed the meat was legitimately sourced, saying he asked whether the supplier was registered and whether the meat was legal to eat, and was told yes to both.

Eating horse meat is perfectly legal in New Zealand, but selling it comes with some seriously strict rules. 

The meat must be processed according to NZ food safety regulations, and according to the Ministry for Primary Industries, there is currently only one registered processor in the country.

"Illegal meat could contain bacteria because the animals were sick or potentially diseased, risk of cross-contamination if there are unhygienic conditions during the processing, and they might not be handling things correctly. It could be contaminated by chemicals,” Lee-Thompson said.

We just want to make sure it's approved meat that's in our food chain.

Auckland Council confirmed there have been no reports of illness linked to the pies.

Pakuranga Bakery is not under investigation, but New Zealand Food Safety is now looking into where the horse meat came from.