Horse meat in a pie? One Auckland bakery seems to think so, offering a traditional Pasifika cuisine in the unique form of a pie.
An Auckland bakery has gone viral for its unconventional filling for a customer favourite. Pakuranga Bakery’s L’oi Hoosi pie has prompted a flurry of interest online for its use of horse meat as a filling. A video posted by the bakery on its social media channels provided customers with the insight they were hungry for the most.
“The question I get asked the most is if it is real horse meat… of course it is.”
It’s believed that the Pakuranga Bakery is the only outlet in Auckland selling a horse meat pie, and had been told that customers had travelled for great distances in order to get their hands on one.
L’oi Hoosi is a Tongan dish, comprised of horse meat coated in a creamy coconut sauce, mixed with cassava and flavoured with spices. Social media commenters were quick to point our that it’s often served at some of Auckland’s night markets, as well as other styles of Pacific cuisine.
The L’oi Hoosi pie has been described as a serving with pastry.
Other social media commenters said they rated the pie 100 out of 10, and that it had a sweet and creamy taste.
Despite being uncommon, it is legal to sell horse meat in New Zealand, providing it is sold under the Animal Products Act 1999, Food Act 2014, and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
Horse meat is safe for human consumption as long as it has been slaughtered and processed following the appropriate food safety measures.
Any meat coming into New Zealand must carry official certification from the exporting country that it meets New Zealand biosecurity, food safety and legal requirements, including truth in labelling.
In New Zealand, there is one processing plant legally authorised to process horse meat for human consumption. MPI said most of its sock is exported.
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