Findus belongs to a more innocent time It does now proudly describe itself as "Britain's Number 1 Retro Product," a slightly unusual accolade for a food product, but no matter: along with Pop Tarts, potato waffles (waffly versatile - go on, I dare you to YouTube the old advert - you'll be singing it for the whole week) and those strange deep fried balls of processed cheese, the Findus Crispy Pancake held a special place in all our hearts. Dried apricots were considered the height of bourgeois bohemian pretention and the very idea of camomile tea was synonymous with being some sort of lesbian-therapist who was training to be a life counsellor. But we are in a more sophisticated age now, and we like to know what we're putting into our mouths and the mouths of our children. And apparently the thing we really, really don't want to put in our mouths is minced horse. Especially when it is being sold to us as minced beef. Much has been made of the fact that in many countries around world, horse is eaten with great enthusiasm. It is actually a healthier option than beef, but that is beside the point: number one, in this country we prefer to race horses, rather than eat them, and number two, if we are going to eat some horse, we like to enter into that arrangement whilst fully cognisant of the facts. Can Findus recover from this scandal? A quick perusal of its website and there is just one message to customers. It reads: "At Findus UK our first priority is our customers and providing quality products they can trust. But we know that many of you have been concerned by the news this week that tests have shown that some of our Findus Beef Lasagne products have been found to contain horsemeat. We understand your concerns, we are sorry that we have let you down and we want you to know the facts. Before this message went up, the Findus website stated that they "only use the best ingredients along with a pinch imagination," and now we know what that "pinch of imagination" is: a load of pony. And whilst the nostalgic side of me still craves a cheese and ham crispy pancake or two, I think I prefer my food without the pinch of imagination for the time being.