Not necessarily, say Midweek Herald readers.

Midweek Herald readers have been sharing their views on the horse meat scandal.

The topic quickly overtook the debate on gay marriage when it was revealed horse meat had been passed off as beef in processed foods.

As supermarkets and their suppliers, who claim they were unaware of the presence of horse meat, test their meals for traces of equine DNA, the Herald asked readers: is the horse meat scandal a crime against the poor? We asked if shoppers felt duped.

The response was mixed,

Roger Pike, 46, of Honiton, says he will carry on buying ready meals.

“This sort of thing has been going on for years,” he said, claiming the scandal is “a fuss over nothing”.

“The meals taste good to me,” he added.

“Until it was brought to everyone’s attention, everyone was happy to eat them

“Look at the stuff the people on I’m A Celebrity eat.

“Keep the ready meals coming. I can’t afford to eat fresh meats all the time,”

Single mum Beverly Steer, 42, of Beer, said: “In this day and age, I don’t know who to trust - regardless of where I buy my food.

“This sort of thing has gone on for ages.

“I live on a tight budget, but, to be honest, don’t eat that many ready meals.

“I am proud to be British but do feel we are being ripped off.”

Alan Hounsell, 36, of Exeter, believes it can sometimes be cheaper to cook from fresh - and freeze leftovers for a future meal.

Donald Heaverstone, 53, of Sidmouth, said: “I was in the French Alps last week, went into an upmarket restaurant and it was more expensive to buy a horse steak than beef steak.”

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