Media coverage of ‘Horsegate’ was wearily predictable. Paid-up members of the Call Back Yesterday tendency were wheeled out to excoriate the supermarkets, the government, the Food Standards Agency and, above all, the humble shopper who perversely insists on buying only the sort of food they can afford. We’ve heard it all before.

One interesting feature, however, was the impression given by more than one supermarket chief executive that the length and complexity of their own supply chain had come as something of a revelation. Really?

I recall a similar incident when I was at the BRC and Sudan 1 was detected in Worcester sauce. As you would have needed to consume at least six pints a day of the said product every day for 20 years for it to affect your health, there was no threat to food safety - or no more than there was from horsemeat. The source of the Sudan 1 was soon traced back to a small supplier in India, from whence it passed through several intermediaries before reaching the UK. Yes, long supply chains can be complex but unless rogues are involved they usually function efficiently, and no part of the system, short or long, is immune from roguery.

“Paterson was wise to meet the industry behind closed doors”

For once, the government in the shape of the environment secretary handled the issue rather well. Owen Paterson looked suitably stern and kept his message short, terse and to the point. He was criticised in this column last week for meeting the food industry behind closed doors, but that was a wise move. Had other groups been invited, the meeting would probably have turned adversarial, with subsequent leaking to the media and the usual posturing.

Has there been any lasting damage to consumer confidence in the integrity of the food supply chain? Ignore the consumer polls. The reported surge in meat sales in butchers’ shops will eventually tail off. Most consumers will return to their normal habits, as they eventually did after the much more serious issue of BSE. Meat consumption will only fall if there is a big and sustained rise in the average retail price - and that’s unlikely. Academics may debate “systemic change”, but for everyone else it will be business as usual.

Kevin Hawkins is an independent retail consultant

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