Horsemeat scandal spreads to Tesco Value spaghetti bolognese
TESCO was last night forced to admit that some of its Everyday Value spaghetti bolognese contained 60 per cent horse, as the scandal over the mislabelling of meat continued to spread.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson told the House of Commons that he had ordered all meat producers and retailers to commence regular testing of all beef products, with results published every three months.
An initial audit of products currently on the shelves will be finished this week, with the findings made available on Friday.
Meanwhile the Romanian Prime Minister angrily rejected claims the horsemeat came from abattoirs in his country, as the pan-European investigation into the apparent fraud continued. Tesco’s technical director Tim Smith said the affected bolognese, which should only contain Irish beef, was withdrawn from sale last week following concerns about products supplied by French manufacturer Comigel. Downing Street yesterday insisted there was no health risk to the public and the concern was over retailer practice and labelling.