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Dutch authorities have found that 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two local trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.

The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.

According to Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, there was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health.

Dutch authorities have found that 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two local trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat

Dutch authorities have found that 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two local trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat

In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.

The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.

Both companies are owned by one man who has already previously been investigated by food safety officials.

The latest find was made as part of EU-wide tests to trace horse DNA in processed beef foods and to detect a veterinary drug used on horses.

The results of the rest of the tests conducted across the EU will be made public next week – giving consumers a better idea of how widespread the scandal has been.

The authorities decided to release their results early because of the magnitude of what they had discovered.

The recall covers meat dating back to 1 January 2011 up until 15 February 2013, the Dutch food authority said on Wednesday.

Due to the lapse of time, a lot of the meat “may already have been consumed”, it added.

Inspectors examining the records of the Dutch trading companies found that the origin of the supplied meat was unclear. As a result it was not possible to confirm whether slaughterhouses had respected procedures.

Some of the suspect meat was also exported to Germany, France and Spain, where authorities have been alerted.

“It might contain traces of horsemeat, but we don’t know for certain at the moment if this is the case,” said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch food authority.

“The buyers have probably already processed the meat and sold it on. They, in turn, are obliged to inform their own customers.”

All EU member states have been informed of the Dutch discovery, said EU spokesman Frederic Vincent.

They have been urged to check whether or not processed meat products coming from the plants in question were still on the market, he added.

“The Dutch announcement is a consequence of the investigations which were launched by EU member states a few weeks ago,” the EU spokesman said.

“Given the size of the fraud, the Dutch decided to go public with their discovery.”

Traces of horsemeat have been found in numerous processed beef frozen meals across Europe.

In February, Dutch officials raided a meat processing plant suspected of mislabelling beef and ordered the withdrawal of suspicious products from supermarket shelves.

Other countries affected included the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.

The EU is set to adopt an Animal and Plant Health legislative proposal in the coming weeks, which includes clauses designed to tackle food fraud.

About 300 people in the Netherlands and the US have caught salmonella after eating Dutch smoked salmon, say Dutch health authorities.

About 200 people have fallen ill in the Netherlands along with about 100 people in the US, said the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM).

An RIVM official said this could be the “tip of the iceberg”.

Smoked salmon made by the Dutch fish producer Foppen is being taken off the shelves.

Foppen supplies major supermarket chains including large retailer Albert Heijn, said the Dutch food safety authority, the NVWA.

“Some 200 people have fallen ill through contaminated salmon” in the Netherlands, said the RIVM, while about 100 people in the US are infected “by the same type of salmonella”.

But this was “probably the tip of the iceberg”, the institute’s Hareld Wychgel said – “the real number of infected people is likely to be much higher”.

Smoked salmon produced by Foppen has been taken off the shelves in the Netherlands, and an international recall targeting salmon sold in the US was being prepared.

In a statement on its website, Foppen offered its “sincere apologies for any inconvenience”.

Infection normally causes diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and sometimes fever and vomiting.

The symptoms usually clear up in four to seven days, but in some cases treatment may be required for dehydration.