Parents in Bath say they're shocked after discovering their children have been served horsemeat in their school dinners.
Many headteachers and parents were told last night that minced beef served in lunches at more than 50 schools run by Bath and North East Somerset Council had tested positive for traces of equine meat.
Laura Makin-Isherwood reports:
Tests have confirmed that beef mince used for school meals in Bath and North East Somerset in December contained horsemeat.
The meat came from the supplier Welsh Bros Foods. 49 primary schools and 10 early years centres used the mince.
The council has now withdrawn all products from the supplier and beef mince has been removed from school menus.
The Food Standards Agency says there's no evidence of any risk to consumers.
The owner of a Somerset abattoir business caught up in the horsemeat scandal has denied doing anything wrong.
Tests revealed horses slaughtered by Stephen Potter contained a potentially harmful painkiller. He claims carcasses were being passed off as beef as long as 12 months ago and that a complete overhaul of the system which regulates the industry is needed.
Schools have today tried to reassure parents about the safety of pupils' meals in the wake of the horsemeat scare. In Bristol, some meals have been removed from the menu in secondary schools, as what the supplier calls "a precaution".
Meanwhile a food processing plant in the city has restarted full production after one of its products was withdrawn by Asda. Watch Bob Constantine's report.
The supplier of a supermarket bolognese sauce, which was taken off the shelves last week because it contained horse DNA, has re-started full production at its Bristol base after a "deep-clean" over the weekend.
Greencore, which makes convenience foods for supermarkets, has said all other products from the factory have tested negative.
The company has launched a full investigation into how the ASDA sauce contained nearly 5 per cent horse DNA.
Traces of horse DNA have been found in beef products made at a food factory near Bristol. A bolognese sauce made by Greencore of Bradley Stoke for Asda has been removed from supermarket shelves.
The company says the meat was supplied by a firm in Ireland and "it's extremely concerned that quality may have been affected". As concern increases, family butchers report growing demand for locally-sourced fresh meat. Bob Constantine reports.
Greencore Ltd, a food processors in Bristol, has found horse DNA in the bolognese sauce it makes for ASDA.
Read the full storyGreencore, a prepared meals processor in Bradley Stoke, Bristol, has found horse DNA in beef bolognese sauce it makes for ASDA. The product was withdrawn this morning (Friday 15 February). Greencore says the meat came from another company in Tipperary, Ireland, and is investigating.
The strong taboos against eating horse in the UK are relatively new, and many cultures devour horses, saying they are healthy and tasty.
Read the full story
