Agencies/London

The company which supplied halal food found to contain traces of pork DNA has removed all halal products from the manufacturer.

Food distributor 3663 carried out its own tests on the products after initially fearing five of its halal products may have contained horsemeat. But tests found it was pork DNA traces.

The firm identified McColgan Quality Foods Ltd, a Northern Ireland-based company, as the source of “the very small number of Halal savoury beef pastry products” affected.

In a statement the company said: “3663 withdraws McColgan Quality Foods Ltd halal pastry products from distribution to ministry of justice.”

All the contaminated products, which were pies and pasties, have been withdrawn by the ministry which has suspended its contract with 3663.

On an Invest Northern Ireland-backed website, McColgan Quality Foods - based in Strabane, County Tyrone - is said to be “approved for the preparation of Halal product”.

The website lists McColgan’s customers to be popular supermarket brands including Lidl, Nisa, Spar and Costcutter. It states McColgan’s specialises in “a wide range of chilled and frozen, sweet and savoury convenience foods for retail and food service”.

In a statement it said it was “proactively co-operating” with the Food Standards Agency.

“McColgan’s has already taken swift measures to identify, isolate and withdraw all of the products which are supplied to The Prison Service while an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding this deeply regrettable and unforeseen incident takes place.

“McColgan’s is keen to stress that at no point has pork of any kind been included in the recipes of any of the halal-certified products it supplies.”

The row comes after traces of horsemeat were found in burgers sold by some UK supermarkets, including Tesco.  3663 - the numbers in the name corresponding to the letters ‘FOOD’ on a telephone number pad - said in a statement its sentiments echoed those of the ministry of justice, and said it was a situation that “we deeply regret”.

It added that the beef pastry products were only distributed to prisons.

A spokesman for the ministry of justice said that following the discovery of non-halal meat and the traces of pork, all prisons were informed and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) immediately informed before steps were taken to suspend the relevant supplier.

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: “This is an absolutely unacceptable situation, and one which we regret greatly. Clearly this must be distressing for those affected and they can be reassured we are doing everything we can to resolve the situation. The Prison Service is investigating this as a matter of urgency.”

On Thursday Burger King dropped the Irish food processing plant which supplied burgers contaminated with horse DNA. The Silvercrest plant in Co Monaghan, part of the ABP Food Group, has lost contracts with the major fast food chain and also supermarkets.

Burger King, whose products were not tested in the food standards checks by Irish authorities, moved production from the Silvercrest plant in Ireland to Germany and Italy as a precaution.

Burger King admitted that, contrary to previous assurances made to it by Silvercrest, it too had now been linked to the scandal.

Authorities insist there is no health danger to consumers.