Ready-meals labelled as containing beef should be tested across the European Union for the presence of horse meat, according to a plan approved Friday by a team of EU experts, dpa reported. The testing, to be carried out by the end of March, would be an "important step in restoring consumer confidence," said Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. Under the plan, which is not compulsory for member states, the European Commission has recommended tests on 2,250 samples of food sold as a beef product - between 10 and 150 per country - to detect the presence of unlabelled horse meat. -- SPA
