Horse Drug Found In Asda Corned Beef Products

Asda has recalled batches of its "Smart Price" corned beef after tests found low levels of veterinary medicine Bute in some of the products.

All batch codes of product affected - 340g tins of 'Smart Price' Corned Beef - have been recalled.

Customers who have bought the 340g tins, with any date code, have been urged not to eat the corned beef but to return it to the supermarket.

It comes just over a month after Asda withdrew the same product after tests found more than 1% equine DNA.

Further sampling and testing has revealed the presence of low levels of phenylbutazone - used in veterinary medicine as a pain-killer or anti-inflammatory.

A statement from Asda said: "In March 2013 we withdrew tinned Smart Price Corned Beef (340g) after receiving a positive test for horse DNA above the 1% trace level set by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

"Today, 9th April 2013, tests on further batches have shown a positive result for very low levels of horse medication called phenylbutazone, also known as bute, at four parts per billion.

"The FSA has reassured us that the quantities we've found pose a low risk to human health."

It added it was recalling tins of Chosen By You corned beef as a precaution because it was made in the same factory. The product had not tested positive for phenylbutazone.

The FSA said no other Asda products are thought to be affected and that customers who had bough the corned beef should contact the supermarket for a refund.

It added that while animals treated with bute should not enter the food chain, the risk of damage to the health of anyone who ate the meat was "very low".

Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies previously said the levels of bute found in horse carcasses meant a person would have to eat up to 600 burgers, containing 100% horsemeat, every day to come close to consuming a human's daily dose of the drug.

A Defra spokesperson said: "Consumers have a right to expect that food is exactly what it says on the label.

"While bute presents very low risk to human health, the Food Standards Agency is investigating this specific horsemeat contamination case and will take action as necessary."