The Dutch food safety body NVWA has stopped a Gelderland slaughterhouse from selling on 690 tonnes of meat after finding horse in some consignments.

The company, named as Van Hattem Vlees in Dodewaard by television show EenVandaag, delivers to the Deka, Deen and Vomar supermarket chains as well as exporting abroad.

The NVWA said in a statement the company’s books are not clear about which consignments of beef have been mixed with horse and about how many horses have been slaughtered.

All the meat in the company’s chill sections and freezers must now remain on site until the situation has been resolved and the company has ensured its registration and tracking systems are in order.

France

Some 11,000 kilos of French horse meat which was not approved for human consumption ended up in the Netherlands last year, junior economic affairs minister Sharon Dijksma told parliament in January.

The meat came from around 200 horses from the racing circuit, pharmaceuticals industry and private owners, the minister said in an update on food safety. The meat, given fake documentation, was delivered to five Dutch companies between January and October last year.

Earlier in 2013, Dutch meat processors were embroiled in a massive meat fraud scandal involving horse meat which was passed off as beef.