British food safety authorities say about 1 per cent of the beef products they have tested so far contain horse meat.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) tested 2,501 products and found 29 contained horse meat.

Testing covered only one-quarter of the entire range of available products, and did not look for contamination of less than 1 per cent.

"The overwhelming majority of beef products in this country do not contain horse," FSA chief Catherine Brown said.

"The examples we have had are totally unacceptable, but they are the exceptions."

All of the 29 products containing horsemeat have already been withdrawn from sale.

They include lasagne and spaghetti bolognese sold by Aldi supermarkets, burgers sold by Co-op stores, and burgers and spaghetti bolognese sold by Britain's leading supermarket chain Tesco.

Beef lasagne made by the frozen foods giant Findus, as well as burgers for the catering industry produced by Irish firm Rangeland, were also on the list.

Separate tests confirmed horse meat was delivered in meals to dozens of schools.

Steve Wearne of the Food Standards Agency has sought to reassure consumers about the health implications.

"On the basis of all of the evidence we have, we don't believe there's a health risk," he said.

"But nevertheless, it is unacceptable for horse meat to be present in school meals, in any meals where it's not on the label."

More results are expected next week.

Meanwhile, the European Union has agreed to start testing food products for horse DNA and bute, a banned horse painkiller not meant for human consumption.

European authorities will test processed beef products immediately.

The EU's health commissioner, Tonio Borg, says there is no need to panic.

Facts about phenylbutazone Better known as bute, it is a painkiller for horses

Better known as bute, it is a painkiller for horses In high doses it can cause blood disorders in humans

In high doses it can cause blood disorders in humans Was used in the 1950s to treat arthritis and gout in humans

Was used in the 1950s to treat arthritis and gout in humans It has since been withdrawn from pharmacy shelves

It has since been withdrawn from pharmacy shelves It is banned for use in food-producing animals, including dairy cows



"We have one of the best, safe, food safety systems in the world. Thankfully in this case the first indications are that it is not a food safety issue," he said.

The tests will be conducted on 2,250 samples across the EU, ranging from 10 to 150 tests per member state.

The results will be reported to the European Commission by April 15.

Concerns about horsemeat first emerged in mid-January when Irish authorities found traces of horse in beef burgers made by firms in the Ireland and Britain and the UK and sold in supermarket chains including Tesco and Aldi.

The discovery has sparked a European crisis, with supermarkets across the continent withdrawing millions of beef products.

ABC/AFP

