@ PhilipP.
"There was no evidence to suggest the horsemeat in itself was a food safety risk, the FSA said."
From the same Guardian link.
All batches of processed meat are routinely tested for pathogens such as salmonella, E:coli and other food poisoning bacteria. The problem was, the tests don't reveal whether the meat is horse or beef. People have happily been eating horse for thousands of years; I have always sought out horse on menus when travelling in countries where it is offered, the worst that has happened is that my daughter didn't speak to me for a week.
This is being over-hyped for political reasons. Yes, there has been criminality, but it's highly unlikely to have put peoples' health at risk.