Asda boss' horsemeat shock

Beefburger products made by a mid-Wales firm have been withdrawn after tests revealed the presence of horsemeat.

Three samples of beefburger products made by Builth Wells catering supplier The Burger Manufacturing Company tested positive for at least 1% horsemeat.

The test were requested by the Food Standards Agency and carried out by Powys County Council.

Further tests will now be carried out to establish how much horsemeat the products contain and to test for the presence of the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone.

The FSA said the company is contacting its customers to inform them of the results and to recall any affected products.

The boss of Asda today described his "shock" as revelations of the horsemeat contamination scandal broke, vowing to leave "no stone unturned" to address problems in the supply chain.

Andy Clarke, chief executive of the UK's second biggest supermarket chain, admitted trust among consumers had been dented, but said his solution would be a "belt and braces" approach to labelling to restore confidence.

He said: "We weren't on our own to be shocked by what came out six weeks ago.

"For us as a business, the first thing we did was look inside our own organisation to identify if we had anything we should be concerned about."

Asda has withdrawn two products from sale, an own-brand bolognese sauce and Freeza frozen beefburgers.

Click here for the latest on the horsemeat scandal.

Grocery and fresh food supplier Brakes, who supply products containing beef to the House of Commons, has said all four products it was asked to test for horse DNA were negative.

• Read: MPs' caterers remove four beef products 'as precaution'

A nursery in the South Wales Valleys and a nursing home in Gwent both bought the cottage pie from Castell Howell wholesalers.

The pie was made by Oak Farm Foods; five customers in total are believed to be affected.

The House of Commons Catering Service has withdrawn four beef products from its outlets that were supplied by grocery and fresh food supplier Brakes.

Brakes is currently carrying out tests on its products containing beef.

"A supplier (Brakes) to the House of Commons Catering Service is currently carrying out tests on its products containing beef," a Commons spokesman said.

"As a precautionary measure, the House of Commons Catering Service has removed from its shelves four beef items supplied by Brakes.

"This relates to meat derivative products rather than to fresh meat provided at the House of Commons.

"Brakes have issued a statement indicating they expect to have completed testing on their own brand beef meat containing products by February 22.

"Tests on two of the four items have been completed so far; both tests have concluded negative for equine DNA."

Nestle has announced internal testing on its processed beef products sold in the UK and Ireland found "no presence of horse DNA".

The company said it tested samples of seven Jenny Craig products and two Gerber baby food products.

"Nestle UK is part of the industry reporting process and these results will be submitted via the Food and Drink Federation, our industry body, to the FSA [Food Standards Agency] in this week’s reporting cycle", the firm said in a statement today.

"We will continue to test our products in accordance with the FSA’s priorities and the results will be reported to the FSA", Nestle added.

Nestle, the world's biggest food company, has removed beef pasta meals from sale in Italy and Spain after finding traces of horse DNA. Swiss-based Nestle, which just last week said its products had not been affected by the scandal, said its tests had found more than 1% horse DNA in two products.

Nestle withdrew two chilled pasta products:

• Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain
• Lasagnes a la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen product for catering businesses produced in France, will also be withdrawn

Nestle says it is suspending deliveries of all products made using beef from a German subcontractor to one of its suppliers.