Nestle pulls meals in Italy, Spain as horsemeat scandal grows

PARIS (AFP) - Swiss giant Nestle has become the latest food company hit by Europe's horsemeat scandal, announcing it is removing two pasta meals from supermarket shelves in Italy and Spain due to contamination.

The news came on Monday as German discount chain Lidl pulled ready-made meals from the shelves of its Finnish, Danish and Swedish stores as it also confirmed the presence of horsemeat.

Meanwhile the French firm that sparked the Europe-wide food alert, by allegedly passing off 750 tonnes of horsemeat as beef, was allowed to resume production of minced meat, sausages and ready-to-eat meals.

But Spanghero, whose horsemeat found its way into 4.5 million "beef" products sold across Europe, will no longer be allowed to stock frozen meat, France's Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said.