Frozen spaghetti and lasagne meals have been stripped from supermarket shelves as fears over contaminated meat products spread.
Retail giant Tesco and discount chain Aldi revealed they have withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by French food supplier Comigel.
The move follows concern over contamination of products with horse meat.
A Tesco spokesman said it took the step as a precaution after Findus beef lasagne was removed from sale.
“Following the withdrawal of Findus beef lasagne, which is produced by Comigel, we have decided to withdraw our frozen Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese, which is produced at the same site, as a precautionary measure,” the Tesco spokesman said.
“There is no evidence that our product has been contaminated and the meat used in the Findus product is not used in our product. However, we have decided to withdraw the product pending the results of our own tests.”
Aldi would not confirm if the products may have been contaminated or mislabelled.
“Following an alert from our French supplier, Comigel, Aldi immediately withdrew its Today’s Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today’s Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese from stores as a precautionary measure,” it said.
“Comigel has flagged concerns that the products do not conform to specification. They have been withdrawn immediately so that Aldi can conduct its own investigations into the factory concerned. These investigations are continuing.
“We will continue to maintain active scrutiny across our supply lines and will always put the quality of our products and safety of our customers first.”
Findus UK said it withdrew its 320g, 360g and 500g lasagne meals as a precautionary measure after a labelling issue with its supplier was uncovered.
The company insisted it was not a food safety issue.
“Deserving consumers’ trust is a key priority for us,” said a Findus UK spokesman. “As part of that commitment, we have been constantly reviewing our supply chain.”
The latest development in the contamination crisis comes a day after supermarket chain Asda withdrew products supplied by a Northern Ireland company that was storing meat found to contain a high proportion of horse DNA.
Newry-based Freeza Meats had been storing the consignment of meat, which was labelled as beef, on behalf of a supplier in the Irish Republic - Co Monaghan-based meat trader McAdam Foods.
Two tested samples were found to contain 80% horse meat.
McAdam Foods has insisted it had no knowledge that any of its meat contained horse DNA. It claimed the contaminated produce originated in Poland.
The meat had not entered the food chain and was not destined for Asda stores.
Asda acknowledged that no trace of equine DNA had been found in products made by Freeza Meats, but said it was still temporarily removing its burger range from its stores as a precaution.
An Asda spokeswoman said: “Although all the science says there is no trace of horse in our burgers produced by Freeza Meats, we can’t and won’t take any chances when it comes to the authenticity of ingredients in our products.
“As a precaution, we have taken all four frozen burger products produced in that factory off sale, and have instructed Freeza Meats to segregate and hold any frozen burgers currently in production or in their supply chain destined for Asda.
“These four products will remain withdrawn from sale until further notice.”
The Irish meat-processing industry has been rocked by the horse meat crisis, with a number of suppliers being caught up in the scare.
Authorities on both sides of the border have pledged to restore the sector’s battered image while the police in the Irish Republic have launched an investigation.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association beef committee chair Edmond Phelan expressed his concern at the situation.
“The sooner we get to the bottom of this story and put a definitive end to it, the better,” he said.
“We need to get back to telling a good news story about Irish beef. The constant stream of bad news - from fresh discoveries of horse meat to further product withdrawals from supermarkets - is extremely damaging.”
Mr Phelan added: “Of course, one thing that has been consistently clear throughout this whole debacle is that the beef produced by Irish farmers is beyond reproach. The meat from Irish farms is absolutely top-quality and fully traceable and that is a point that must be emphasised.”
The Polish chief veterinary officer today wrote to the Irish authorities requesting documents relating to the contaminated produce that has been linked to Poland.
Dr Janusz Zwiazek also asked for photos of labels from the products and all sample test results.
Polish veterinary officials said they have carried out inspections at slaughter houses and factories believed to be linked to the contamination scare and found no evidence of horse DNA.
They said there was also no evidence of falsified labels.
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