Although people in the United States of America rarely eat horse meat, many horses from the US are sold for slaughter and consumption in Europe, Mexico or Japan. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) 2003 investigation has revealed that salami and chorizo on sale in the UK sometimes contain horse and donkey meat, without being mentioned on the food label—something that is required. Much of the horse meat produced in the US is sold to zoos for carnivore feeding, due to its high protein content.
Those preparing sandwiches with horse meat usually use it smoked and salted. Horse meat forms an ingredient in several traditional recipes of salami, and in Kazakhstan it is used in hazy (horse sausage).
Japanese call raw horse meat sakura (cherry blossom) from its pink color. It is often served as sashimi where it is called basashi and serve it in thin slices with soya sauce and wasabi. In Switzerland horse meat may be used in Fondue bourguignonne. It is widely believed that traditional Belgian fries (pommes frites) were cooked in horse fat, but in fact ox fat was used, although this has been supplanted by nut oil (considered inferior by many) for health reasons. In Italy horse fat used in recipes such as Pezzetti di Cavallo . In Chile it is used in charqui. In Iceland it is used for fondue, but it is mostly used for stews for its strong flavor.