About 50,000 tons of beef across Europe is being recalled by the food safety authorities in the Netherlands amid fears that it may contain horsemeat.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said that it alerted more than 130 meat processing companies in the country to withdraw the meat they had received from two beef wholesalers - Wiljo Import en Export and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.
Inspectors examining Willy Selten's records had found that the origin of the meat it supplied was unclear. This indicates that it is not possible to confirm whether slaughterhouses had respected procedures, according to the authorities.
Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority spokeswoman said that the meat being recalled may contain traces of horsemeat, but at the moment the agency is not sure if this is the case.
The agency said that there was no evidence that the suspect meat poses a threat to human health.
The recall includes meat dating back to 1 January 2011 to until 15 February 2013.
Wiljo Import en Export and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten have about 130 customers in the Netherlands, and around 370 customers across European countries, including Germany, France and Spain.
