By . Martin Robinson and Hugo Gye . PUBLISHED: . 02:40 EST, 19 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:50 EST, 19 February 2013 . Nestlé, the world's biggest food company, has removed several beef pasta ready meals from sale in Italy and Spain after finding traces of horse DNA. It is hugely embarrassing for the Swiss-based giant, because just last week . it insisted its products had not been affected by the scandal. But last night the firm admitted its own tests . had found more than one per cent horse DNA in two products. Recall: Nestlé has been forced to withdraw processed beef products from shops in Italy and Spain . The discovery of horsemeat in products . labelled as beef has spread across Europe since last month, prompting . product withdrawals, consumer anger and government investigations into . the continent's complex food-processing chains. 'We have informed the authorities accordingly,' Nestlé said in a statement on Monday. 'There is no food safety issue.' Nestle withdrew two chilled pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain. Lasagnes à la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a catering product produced in France, will also be withdrawn. The company insists that none of its products on sale in the UK are affected. Scandal: Frozen foods company Findus is one of the firms which has been forced to withdraw frozen products . Nestlé has suspended deliveries of all products made using beef from a German subcontractor to one of its suppliers. Governments across Europe have stressed that horsemeat poses little or no health risk, although some carcasses have been found tainted with a painkiller banned for human consumption. But the scandal has damaged the confidence of consumers in supermarkets and fast food chains since horsemeat was first identified in Irish beefburgers. Budget retailer Lidl said on Monday it had withdrawn products from its stores in Finland and Sweden after finding traces of horsemeat. Other supermarket chains which have been drawn in to the scandal include Tesco and Asda, while frozen foods company Findus was forced to withdraw its beef lasagne. Two men, a Yorkshire farmer and the owner of a meat processing plant in Wales, have been arrested and bailed over allegations they knowingly allowed contaminated beef to enter the food chain.
Pasta ready meals made with tainted beef withdrawn from sale in Europe . Food giant said just last week that its products were unaffected by scandal .