Asda has said the frozen lean beef mince product it withdrew back in January has tested positive for more than 1% horse DNA.

This is the second Asda product that has been found to contain horse DNA above trace levels, after a Greencore-made Chosen By You bolognese sauce was found to contain 4.8% horse DNA on 16 February.

A spokeswoman for Asda said the mince was supplied by ABP Food Group’s Dalepak plant in Yorkshire.

In a statement to thegrocer.co.uk, ABP confirmed it had advised Asda to withdraw the mince as a precaution back in January, but added: “At this stage we do not have any details of any samples of this product that have tested positive for equine DNA above trace levels.”

Asda also confirmed that three of its frozen beef readymeals – spaghetti and meatballs, beef lasagne and beef cannelloni – had tested positive for more than 1% undeclared pork DNA. Meanwhile, trace levels of undeclared lamb DNA were found in its frozen steak sandwich.

In addition to the products that have tested for undeclared meat DNA, Asda has now withdrawn a total of 42 products as a precaution, most recently two frozen Chosen By You pizzas.

In a statement on its website, Asda said it had tested 641 products and was “reassured that more than 99% of our products tested so far are clear.”

“We want you, our customers, to have complete confidence in the food you buy at Asda,” it added. “The events in the last few weeks concerning contamination of some meat products have shocked us as much as we know they’ve shocked you.”

Asda’s announcement comes as the Food Standards Agency published its latest update on meat testing in the UK today. Following tests conducted by the industry – the results of have been announced over the past three weeks – the agency has now moved on to its own testing regime, conducted by local authorities.

In its first update today, the FSA said 212 of 224 beef product samples had come back negative for both horse and pig DNA above the 1% tolerance level. Three products had tested positive for more than 1% pig DNA – the two Asda products and a lasagne from Apetito – but so far no products had been found to contain more than 1% horse DNA.

It added, however, that “preliminary tests show that seven samples, representing six different prdoucts, may contain horse DNA above 1% and a further three may contain pig DNA above 1%” but said further tests were needed to verify this.

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