ROME — Italian health officials said a type of lasagna frozen-food product tested positive for horse DNA, the first such case in the country.
The product being sold in a supermarket in the northern city of Brescia wasn’t properly identified as horsemeat on its label, according to an e-mailed statement from the Italian Health Ministry. The “Lasagna alla Bolognese,” made by a company in Bologna, has been removed from store shelves, the ministry said.
Health officials have seized 6 tons of ground meat labeled as beef and 2,400 packages of the lasagna product, according to the statement. The ministry said authorities are continuing to conduct checks throughout Italy. Earlier Saturday, the ministry said all samples of a Nestle SA frozen-food product in Italy were negative for horse DNA.
Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, said Feb. 18 that it’s withdrawing some beef ravioli and beef tortellini products and halted deliveries after traces of horse DNA were found in food made with meat from a German supplier.
A frozen lasagna produced in France for the catering industry was also withdrawn, the Vevey, Switzerland-based company said in the Feb. 18 statement.
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