A Findus Beef Lasagne photographed in a shop in Jarrow, England, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Frozen-food company Findus recalled the beef lasagne meals earlier this week after French supplier Comigel raised concerns that the products didn't "conform to specification." The U.K. Food Standards Agency said the lasagnes were tested as part of an ongoing investigation into mislabeled meat. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
LONDON — Sweden on Friday became the newest European country to be hit by a widening meat products scandal, as frozen-food company Findus said it was recalling beef lasagna meals there after tests confirmed the products contained horsemeat.
Already, Britain, Ireland, Poland and France have been drawn into the growing saga over the use of horsemeat and the apparent mislabeling of products along the supply chain. Millions of burgers have been recalled in recent days due to the scandal.
Eating horsemeat is not generally a health risk, but the cases have spurred disgust in places where such meat is far from a staple.
Earlier this week, Findus said it was recalling beef lasagna meals in Britain because of concerns raised by its French supplier Comigel. Tests later found that some of those meals contained between 60 to 100 percent horsemeat instead of beef.
Then on Friday, a second British company, Aldi, confirmed that tests on Comigel-supplied products it had recently recalled – beef lasagna and frozen spaghetti bolognese – showed some contained between 30 and 100 percent horsemeat.
Aldi said it felt "angry and let down" by Comigel and that it was severing ties with the French supplier.
Britain's Food Standards Agency said that in light of the latest information from Aldi, it is working with French authorities and recommends that any companies that have sourced beef products from Comigel "conduct a precautionary withdrawal of product."
Findus official Henrik Nyberg said about 20,000 frozen lasagna meals are being recalled in Sweden. Nyberg told The Associated Press that the products don't pose any food safety risk, and were recalled solely because they had been mislabeled.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that the scandal is "completely unacceptable" and must be addressed.
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Frozen lasagne sold by Findus could have been contaminated by horsemeat since last summer, it emerged today. The firm admitted last night that its products contained up to 100 per cent horse, making it the latest in a series of household names to confess to selling contaminated food to unsuspecting consumers. Today MP Tom Watson claimed to have evidence that the company was told that it had inadvertently been selling impure meat as early as last Saturday, and that the violations dated back to August last year. Senior politicians have said that they would not eat any processed beef products and urged ministers to announce whether it was safe for the public to do so.
Its funny how something negative, can make something positiv. The costumer is asking for horsemeat after Findus made that error. Websites is booming with recepies.
