The world’s biggest food company, Nestle has removed beef pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA above 1%.
The Swiss-based firm has halted deliveries of products containing meat from a German supplier.
Nestle is the latest in a string of major food producers to find traces of horse meat in beef meals, in an escalating EU-wide scandal.
The widening controversy over mislabelled beef products has affected at least 12 European countries.
Last week, Nestle said its products did not contain horse meat.