MEAT in Tesco burgers which was found to contain horse DNA did not come from a list of approved suppliers, the supermarket said today.

The meat also came from outside the UK or Ireland, which was contrary to company policy.

The supermarket has dropped its frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, following what it termed a “breach of trust”.

It has vowed to introduce a DNA testing system on meat products to “ensure the quality” of the food on its shelves in the wake of the scandal.

It said: “We now understand – with as much certainty as possible – what happened.

“The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them.

“Nor was the meat from the UK or Ireland, despite our instruction that only beef from the UK and Ireland should be used in our frozen beefburgers.

“Consequently we have decided not to take products from that supplier in future. We took that decision with regret but the breach of trust is simply too great.”

Tesco was forced to issue a public apology earlier this month after tests in Ireland discovered traces of horse meat in three frozen beefburger lines.

The findings sparked a national outcry and 10 million burgers were taken off shelves as a result of the scandal.