Nestlé finds horsemeat in pasta meals

World's biggest food company withdraws products in Italy, Spain and France, saying they contained more than 1% horse

Nestl , the world's biggest food company, has removed beef pasta products from sale in Italy, Spain and France after finding traces of horse DNA.

The Swiss-based company, which last week said its products were unaffected by the scandal, said its tests had found more than 1% horse DNA in two products.

"We have informed the authorities accordingly," Nestl said in a statement on Monday. "There is no food safety issue."

Nestl withdrew two chilled pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain. Lasagnes la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen product for catering businesses produced in France, will also be withdrawn.

Nestl was suspending deliveries of all products made using beef from a German subcontractor to one of its suppliers, the company said.

The discovery of horsemeat in products labelled as beef has spread from the UK across Europe since last month, prompting product withdrawals, consumer anger and government investigations into the continent's complex food-processing chains.

Governments across Europe have stressed that horsemeat poses little or no health risk, although some carcasses have been found to be tainted with a painkiller banned for human consumption.

But the scandal has damaged the confidence of consumers in supermarkets and fast food chains since horsemeat was first identified in Irish burgers.

The retailer Lidl said on Monday it had withdrawn products from its stores in Finland and Sweden after finding traces of the meat.

Zerofund: An innovative platform to kickstart Greece’s startup scene

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Greece-based journalist Eleni Natsi. You can find her on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook.

In 2011 the leading French newspaper Liberation published an extensive report on the Greek economic crisis as well as what happened to the global financial markets following former Prime Minister George Papandreou’s decision to call for a referendum. The referendum asked Greek citizens to vote on whether or not they want to accept the EU bail out package and all its measures, or to exit the Eurozone and return to the drachma.

The title was "Le Chaos".

"Le Chaos" turned itself from a news title to a dominant word for foreigners each time they refer to Greece since the beginning of the severe economic crisis back to 2009.

But is that the whole truth about Greece? Certainly not. Some people, especially the young generation, do their part to beat the crisis. And sometimes against all odds. Due to the crisis, government services were asked to undergo harsh budget cuts and companies started laying people off by the thousands. As a consequence, people started thinking of creating - and some of them actually funding - their own companies.

BugSense, Taxibeat, Hellas Direct, the newly funded by Openfund startups Incrediblue and Workable HR (a 100,000 investment in Incrediblue and 600,000 in Workable HR) are some of the successful Greek startups that were founded during the crisis, paving the way for a hopefully better future for Greece. Are we talking about the rebirth of the Greek startup ecosystem? This remains to be seen in the next few years but certainly something feels right about this.

Zerofund and how to fight startups' "bugs"

If somebody wanted to identify the problems that Greek startups face, three words would surface: funding-networking-logistics. Also, if somebody asked who knows in detail the problems of a startup, the obvious answer would be "a startuper". And here comes Zerofund.

Zerofund is a collective effort of Greek entrepreneurs, famous Greekamericans and others, to deal with the problems faced by startups in the country. It was founded by active startupers, John Vlachogiannis, Maria Nasioti and Panagiotis Papadopoulos, the core team of BugSense, a tool that collects and analyzes crash reports from mobile apps.

So, what is Zerofund?

Zerofund is essentially a social network of mentors from Greece and abroad and a funding and participation bridge to an acceleration program in the United States called Mindthebridge.

Almost all "heavy weights" of the Greek startup scene participate in the Mindthebridge platform as mentors: Pinnatta, Taxibeat, Hellas Direct, E-shop, e-food, Doctoranytime and Weendy supported Zerofund from the very beginning along with many others such as Visionmobile, a market analysis and strategy firm in the mobile sector.

Behind the Zerofund curtain one can also find personalities with an international presence such as Alex Gounares (formerly AOL CTO and before that one of Bill Gates’ closest aides at Microsoft) Location Labs CEO Tasso Roumeliotis, as well as Google Product Managers from San Francisco and London who agreed to offer their knowledge to the Greek startups.

Is it like Kickstarter? Nope. This is how it actually works

The first step for a Greek startup that wants to participate to Zerofund was to simply register to zerofund.org. Zerofund accepted registrations until February 1st .

In the days after the registration, the Zerofund team sends to all registered startups a template in which - through the use of text-video-photos - the startups have to describe in detail what they do and their team’s composition.

In this point comes the public audience: anyone can view details of the startups, and if they’re interested, they can publicly offer a "virtual" investment sum.

This the first difference between Kickstarter, the famous crowdfunding platform, and Zerofund, the "innovative crowdresourcing platform" as John Vlachogiannis, CTO of BugSense puts it: "In the case of Kickstarter your aim is to raise a particular amount of money for your project to get off the ground. In Zerofund, the virtual amount of funds that needs to be raised from each startup is just the means of going to the next phase. In fact, not putting real money through the Zerofund platform saved us from legal issues."

So, what's happens next? In the next phase, approximately on February 20th, during a specially organized event, the startups that managed to raise the specific virtual amount of funds, will be called to present their idea to the public. At that point, anyone who is interested can offer an actual amount of funds (not virtual) to the startup of his choice.

The funds a startup will collect will be funneled directly to the coworking spaces Colab and 123p, where the startup would be offered space to work, and meals.

"The whole scheme was built like that for a number of reasons: firstly, by giving the money to coworking spaces and not directly to startups means that startups don’t need to have a legal identity. Secondly, by giving the money to coworking spaces and putting startups to work there, we reinforce and build a strong startup ecosystem. In a coworking space, startups learn to interact with each other, exchange ideas and cooperate. Coworking spaces are also the fertile soil for new ideas to flourish and become business ventures" says John. And here starts the actual work: according to the schedule, the selected startups will have one month to build their product/service.

Since ZeroFund is a Microsoft BizSpark Network Partner, free resources will be provided to startups as well as from Google and the Microsoft Hellas Innovation Center. Naturally, during that period, the startups will have access to the mentor network that was mentioned before.

In the next phase, the Zerofund team will evaluate the startups and their products, and will choose the one that will travel to the USA in order to participate for a period of three months in the Mindthebridge acceleration program. There, besides the direct funding it will receive ($65,000), the startup will also be given the opportunity to be exposed to an extremely dynamic environment, such as Silicon Valley.

From its side, the Mindthebridge acceleration program has the capability to take three more startups that "reached the finishing line" and have built a well structured product or service in the one month initial period.

During the entire process, Openfund, a Greek fund focused on technology startups in Greece and South East Europe, will watch the startups that enter the Zerofund platform closely. According to future plans, startups from other parts of Europe will be able to enter the Zerofund platform too.

The Greek startup scene: A no man's land?

No man's land: One phrase, so many interpretations. In the case of the Greek startup scene, ‘no man's land’ may refer to an area of uncertainty or ambiguity. In fact, the newly built Zerofund platform faces one crucial challenge: Are there going to actually be well-built teams able to go through the process, build a good product/service within a month and cut the finish line, successfully entering the MindThebridge acceleration program?

Another tricky part might be that of the virtual amount of funds that someone publicly offers in the platform. At the next pitching occasion before the audience, will they actually give that amount of real money to the startup of their preference? This remains to be seen, but what should be noted here is that Zerofund was built on a community, meaning that every person involved in it is exposed and judged by this community.

Concerning the first challenge - the number of well-built teams going through the Zerofund process - it should be noted that the Greek startup ecosystem is brand new, and is still in its infancy.

Despite the fact that there are some really good examples of Greek startups, what the Greek scene lacks is a successful role model. So far there isn't a Greek startup that has accomplished either a good exit, or a really notable profitable organic growth and can be an example for others. Keep in mind that from 1957 and for the next 20 years just eight Fairchild Semiconductor employees founded 67 startup companies in the newly-born Silicon Valley. The bottom line is that successful ecosystems are built, among other things, on successful examples or role models that give their feedback on the new-born ones and create a startup "think big" mentality.

Since the startup ecosystem is newly built, the same challenge applies to the four new venture capital funds (Odyssey Venture Partners, PJ Tech Catalyst, Openfund II and First Athens) that have to invest their money ( 65 million - $86.8 million - without the First Athens fund, which hasn't made an official announcement yet) in a considerable number of Greek startups in the ICT sector in the next few years. In Greece these funds were built under the JEREMIE initiative, which is organised through the European Investment Fund (EIF). Through the Jeremie initiative, the EIF manages funds made available from the European Regional Development Fund and related public expenditure granted for utilisation under the JEREMIE initiative.

In conclusion, currently in Greece having a pool of talented people who are urged to do their part to beat the crisis could be simply put, in an interpretation of Eric Hobsbawm's famous book, as... "Interesting Times."

Image credit: Thinkstock

Mystery of Irish property tycoon found dumped on country road

Police on both sides of the Irish border are investigating what happened to Kevin McGeever, missing since June last year

A cross-border investigation is under way into the mysterious disappearance of an Irish property tycoon who has been found dishevelled and unkempt at the side of a road, eight months after he disappeared.

Kevin McGeever had not been since he was reported missing in County Galway in June last year, but was found with an insult carved into his head, long hair, unkempt beard and long fingernails on the Leitrim-Cavan border by a woman driving past.

He has since told the Irish police that he was abducted by three masked and armed men from his mansion in rural Galway in May. McGeever told officers that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom for his safe release, but he did not know whether one had been paid.

The property developer said he could not remember what had happened to him since, but, as he was being released, he was given a mobile phone and warned to keep it with him at all times.

The Gardai are now trying to establish whether he had been held across the Border in Northern Ireland before he was dumped in Leitrim.

Catherine Vallely discovered the missing man on Tuesday night. She was on her way home to Ballinamore with her partner Peter Rehill when they spotted him in the middle of the road.

"He had red trousers that made me think it was a cone in the middle of the road," Vallely told the Irish Independent. "When the man got into our car, he told us he had no shoes on. He said three men threw him out of a van."

The couple took him straight to Ballinamore garda station. The couple said he told them he had been thrown out of a van and was unable to tell what month of the year it was or what happened to him during his captivity.

"A female garda immediately invited him in for a cup of tea. As he was eating tea and biscuits, he asked her if she had any more. He said he hadn't eaten for God knows how long.

"He had a pair of enormous eyes in a very thin face and his cheekbones stuck out. He was rubbing his beard with fingers that had long nails. He was very well-educated, well-spoken and polite and articulate. He was just skin and bones," she said.

During the Celtic Tiger boom, McGeever ran an international property business selling luxury homes in Dubai to rich Irish and British clients. He is listed in legal proceedings before the high court in a case being taken against KMM Properties, which began in 2009.

From 3G To 4G: U.K. Telecoms Regulator Consults On Liberalising All Spectrum Licences In 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz Bands

The fallout from Ofcom’s March 2012 decision to allow the company now known as EE to refarm existing 2G spectrum to build a 4G network continues. That decision paved the way for the launch of the U.K.’s first 4G network, 4GEE, up and running at the end of October 2012. Now EE’s rivals, Vodafone and Three, have asked the U.K. telecoms regulator to liberalise their existing spectrum holdings to allow them to run 4G services too.

Ofcom has gone further — and is proposing to liberalise all mobile licences in the 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands for 4G — kicking off a consultation today. Here’s what it’s proposing:

to liberalise all mobile licences in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands to permit the deployment of 4G services (where such licenses have not already been liberalised). This will align the permitted technologies across all mobile spectrum licences, including the existing licences at 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz and the licences to be awarded by auction in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands. This will meet a long standing objective to liberalise all mobile licences so that there are no regulatory barriers to the deployment of the latest available mobile technology;

The consultation document includes a table detailing the current breakdown of U.K. spectrum holdings — which shows that only EE and Three (H3G) currently have liberalised spectrum (in the 1,800Mhz band), and also underlines how EE, the joint network entity formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, was able to use existing spectrum holdings for 4G because it held such a large tranche of spectrum (2 x 45MHz). Other carriers aren’t so well furnished:

All the U.K.’s major carriers are currently bidding to acquire new spectrum — in the 800MHz and 2.6 GHz bands — which would enable EE’s rivals to launch their own 4G networks by late spring/summer. Despite Ofcom’s proposal to liberalise more existing spectrum licences for 4G use, it’s unlikely that EE’s rivals would be able to launch new 4G networks in their existing spectrum for a variety of reasons.

For one, Ofcom’s consultation on the liberalisation runs until March 29, after which the regulator would need time to consider the responses it has received before making and implementing its decision. Additionally, carriers would need to ensure they have cleared existing users of the liberalised spectrum before being able to deploy 4G services. Whereas the spectrum bands going under Ofcom’s hammer at present are being prepared for an imminent 4G launch — talks between the carriers, Ofcom and TV broadcasters last fall resulted in a speeding up of the clearance schedule for the 800MHz band, for instance.

Assuming Ofcom does go ahead with the proposed liberalisation, Matthew Howett, telecoms regulation analyst at Ovum, reckons it could be years before these existing spectrum holdings could be put to use for 4G.

“Despite operators being able to deploy 4G services in these bands previously restricted to 2G and 3G technologies, most are unlikely to do so in the short term,” he said in a statement reacting to Ofcom’s consultation. “They would first need to be cleared of their existing use through a process of refarming that would probably takes years rather than months, and so the spectrum that is currently being auctioned by Ofcom will most likely be used for Vodafone, O2 and Three's initial deployment of 4G services.”

Howett added that Ofcom is moving away from a “command and control” approach to spectrum policy towards a “market-based management mechanism that lets the users of radio spectrum decide its real economic value and the best way to use it”. So, while the near-term impact on U.K. carriers’ 4G deployment plans might not be that great — the longer term move to free up spectrum licences to support speedier deployment of future technologies could have a much more significant impact.

“As mobile technologies advance and demand for mobile data traffic increases, regulators have acted to liberalize certain spectrum bands from previous technological restrictions,” Howett added. “Many regulators have updated the conditions of the licenses to accommodate the principle of technological neutrality, which removes restrictions on spectrum use and allows operators to deploy other technologies in these bands. This is a positive move.”

Discussing the medium term consumer benefits of liberalising spectrum licences for 4G, Ofcom’s consultation document refers to the increased “flexibility” it will offer carriers to decide which technology to deploy in which band, and ultimately, therefore, to better tailor services to customers’ preferences:

In the medium term, liberalisation may give operators greater flexibility to decide which technology to deploy in which bands. This may allow them to supply services that better meet their customers' preferences.

… we recognise that operators may not immediately deploy 4G services in the newly liberalised bands. If so, then the consumer benefits associated with liberalisation would not occur immediately. However, it is likely that the operators will take advantage of the increased flexibility, and that consumer benefits will flow from this, in due course.

Simple-minded spies: Belgian State Security employees overshare information on Facebook and LinkedIn

You’d never catch James Bond or Jason Bourne doing this, I’m sure: dimwits working for Belgium’s State Security Service are reportedly sharing the name of their employer on social networking sites.

A report in local newspaper De Standaard says Belgian State Security officials and politicians charged with overseeing the civilian intelligence agency have already expressed concerns over the LinkedIn and Facebook profiles of certain employees.

It appears that a simple search reveals that some State Security workers are publicly sharing the name of their employer, which obviously poses security risks.

Indeed, I ran a search this morning and found this:

It’s worth noting that State Security officials wouldn’t confirm that these profiles are genuine, which means at least some of them have half a brain. It’d sure be funny if they confirmed they are in fact real profiles.

Someone high up in the Belgian intelligence agency told De Standaard that ‘Russian and Chinese security services employ thousands of people, enabling them to do searches for this kind of information on social networks and exploiting it’.

He or she added that the simpletons oversharing such information on LinkedIn and Facebook are setting themselves up as ‘targets for hostilities’. Not to mention FarmVille requests and pokes, I might add.

Image credit: Thinkstock