Tesco and Aldi join Findus UK in withdrawing frozen beef meals in latest concerns over origin of meat products

Tesco said it was withdrawing its frozen spaghetti bolognese as a 'precaution'

Tesco and Aldi have removed frozen beef meals from sale.

In the latest alert over the origin of frozen meat, the retailers announced at 4pm that they were withdrawing products made by the French supplier Comigel.

Aldi said of its frozen spaghetti bolognese and lasagne: “Comigel has flagged concerns that the products do not conform to specification.”

Tesco said it was withdrawing its frozen spaghetti bolognese as a “precaution.”

The chains acted after the frozen food manufacturer Findus UK withdrew 320g, 360g and 500g lasagnes made by Comigel because of “a labelling issue”.

Tesco and Aldi were among the supermarkets which withdrew frozen beefburgers last month after the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found samples contained horse DNA.

In the past few days, raw ingredients stored by Irish meat processors have been found to have large proportions of horsemeat – two at 80 per cent.

Findus said its recall was not a food safety issue. “Deserving consumers' trust is a key priority for us,” a Findus UK spokesman said. “As part of that commitment, we have been constantly reviewing our supply chain.”

Tesco - which took out full-page adverts to apologise to customers about the discovery of horse DNA in its budget burgers – said: “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.

”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 said: “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.

“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 They have been withdrawn immediately so that Aldi can conduct its own investigations into the factory concerned.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.”