EU horsemeat, bute Random test results expected

Results of random tests for horse DNA in processed beef products are being published by the European Commission.The three-month program of checks was agreed by the 27 EU member states in February after horsemeat had been found in a batch of Findus frozen lasagna, BBC reported.National food inspectors were also asked to test horsemeat in the food chain for the banned anti-inflammatory horse drug phenylbutazone, or "bute".The UK has announced a "wide-ranging" strategic review of its food chain.The tests were commissioned by the EU amid concerns about possible fraudulent attempts to sell horsemeat as processed beef in a number of member states.The tests will not be conclusive - they may only amount to about 2,000 so far - but they will provide a snapshot of the scale of the problem and have already had an effect.Last week the Dutch government announced that, as part of its investigations, it had identified two processing plants that might have supplied horsemeat as beef since January 2011.The UK's Food Standards Agency has conducted 150 tests for the commission, but separate to that there have been 6,000 tests carried out by the industry and local councils in the UK.So far 24 have shown the presence of horsemeat in a range of food.One product, Asda's Smart Price Corned Beef, contained a very low level of bute.BBC European correspondent Christian Fraser, in Brussels, said the commission believed the EU had one of the best food safety systems in the world but it relied on a complex web of suppliers.In a food chain that might stretch from Romania to the Netherlands, the South of France and Britain, pinning down where the system had gone wrong had proved difficult, he added.The correspondent said the food companies across the EU were so interwoven that one fraud could have a serious ripple effect across a number of countries.The results are expected to be revealed in Brussels at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST).In the UK, Food Minister David Heath said the government's review would look for any vulnerabilities in the food chain that could be exploited by fraudsters.Consumers "must have confidence in the food they buy", he said.