FSA: Levels of horse meat are 'astounding'

Investigations are under way to try to find out how beefburgers on sale in UK and Irish Republic supermarkets became contaminated with horsemeat.

Irish food safety officials, who carried out tests two months ago, said the products had been stocked by a number of chains including Tesco and Iceland stores in the UK.

Speaking on The World at One, Steve Wearne, a spokesperson for the Food Standards Association (FSA), told presenter Martha Kearney that "it is absolutely the responsibility of food businesses to get this right and to make sure that people aren't mislead."

"We find it astounding that horse meat at levels of 29% of the meat content, was found in one of the products that was surveyed," he explained.