29 positive results for horsemeat DNA in beef products

The tests were ordered by the FSA after horsemeat was found in some beef ready meals.

Of 2,501 products tested, the vast majority – 2,472 – did not contain traces of horsemeat. But 29 did and another 950 tests are ongoing.

The horsemeat scandal, uncovered by inspectors in Ireland, has led to product recalls and damaged confidence in the European meat industry. The 29 figure relates to these products.

Before the results were released by the FSA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Iceland, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op said horsemeat had not been detected in their processed meals.

The supermarkets have tested samples, rather than their complete ranges, which will take several weeks longer.

FSA Chief Executive Catherine Brown said: “The results show that the overwhelming majority of beef products do not contain horse. The examples we have had are totally unacceptable, but they are the exceptions.

“It will take some time to complete the process and is costly for industry. But it is industry’s responsibility to get this right, not the government’s.”

School meals

School meals have also been tested, and today Lancashire county council said it had withdrawn pre-prepared cottage pie from 47 school kitchens after horsemeat was found. Burgers containing horsemeat have also been supplied to hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Compass Group, which provides school meals, said it had found horse DNA in burgers in Northern Ireland. Pub supplier Whitbread said two of its products contained horsemeat.

The EU will now test beef products across the continent for traces of horsemeat.

Earlier, Downing Street criticised the supermarkets for remaining silent since the scandal began, which prompted several of them to make public statements today.

Products withdrawn

Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, told the BBC: “Retailers have not been reticent. They have been working hard over the last three weeks since this issue first arose to make sure any problems they do identify they act on quickly.

“And we have seen them do that, withdrawing products straight away from our shops.”

Police have arrested two men from Aberystwyth and one from Yorkshire on suspicion of fraud. The arrests relate to horsemeat allegedly passed off as beef.

Today the FSA said no further arrests were imminent, but it added that it had entered three premises in England this morning as part of its investigation.

Last night, Asda withdrew its 500g beef bolognese sauce after tests revealed the presence of horse DNA.

The company apologised to customers and said it was taking a “belt-and-braces approach” by removing a further three beef products made by the same supplier, the Greencore plant in Bristol, as a precaution.

Yesterday it emerged a significant amount of horsemeat containing the painkiller phenylbutazone – or bute – could have been entering the food chain for some time. The levels of bute found are not thought to pose a health risk.

Several supermarkets, including Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, have withdrawn some of their own-brand beef products, while Findus has withdrawn its frozen lasagnes.