Tesco Horse Meat

Horsemeat scandal:

Tesco reveals 60% content in dish...

Some Tesco Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese contains 60% horsemeat, DNA tests by the retailer have found.

The meal, withdrawn from sale on Tuesday, came from the French factory producing Findus beef lasagne, also at the centre of a row over horsemeat.

Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has told MPs of plans to test all processed beef in the UK.

Romania has rejected claims that it was responsible for wrongly describing horsemeat from its abattoirs as beef.

Tesco took the frozen bolognese off the shelves when it found out Findus was concerned about the source of its meat processed by Comigel, based at Metz, north-eastern France.

It is one of several products that have been withdrawn from UK shelves amid the current scandal over horsemeat in food products in the UK and Europe.

Tesco Group technical director Tim Smith said: "The frozen Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese should contain only Irish beef from our approved suppliers. The source of the horsemeat is still under investigation by the relevant authorities.

"The level of contamination suggests that Comigel was not following the appropriate production process for our Tesco product and we will not take food from their facility again.

"We are very sorry that we have let customers down."

Safety issues

• Experts say horsemeat itself should be no more dangerous than beef to eat

• The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has ordered food businesses to check for horsemeat in all processed beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagne. The first set of results is expected on Friday 15 February

• There is concern that some horses are given a drug called bute (phenylbutazone) which can be dangerous to humans

• Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain for this reason

• The FSA says all horse carcasses in the UK have been tested for bute since 30 January

• The FSA has also ordered Findus to test its lasagne containing horsemeat for bute

BBC News - Horsemeat scandal: Tesco reveals 60% content in dish. 2013.BBC News - Horsemeat scandal: Tesco reveals 60% content in dish. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21418342. [Accessed 24 May 2013].

 Horse Meat Scandal. 2013. Horse Meat Scandal. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.viridian-online.com/horse-meat-scandal/. [Accessed 24 May 2013].