SOFIA: Bulgaria on Thursday became the latest European country to confirm the presence of horsemeat in products labelled as beef that were taken off shelves last week.

"Results from the two tests taken from the already banned products were positive for horsemeat, indicating 80 percent and 50 percent content," Bulgaria's food safety agency said.

The tests by a German laboratory were ordered last week when 86 kilogrammes (190 pounds) of "beef" lasagne dishes were withdrawn from a supermarket chain that was not identified.

The agency proceeded to destroy the dishes on Thursday, adding that it also sent for DNA testing five new samples from other products.

Some 30 samples from Bulgarian meat products were also tested in Bulgarian laboratories over the past 10 days, and were all negative, it added.

Horsemeat labelled as beef has already been detected in products across Europe in recent days in a major scandal that has even reached Hong Kong.

An investigation pointed to French firm Spanghero as the main culprit for mislabelling meat bought in Romania through a complicated network of traders in Cyprus and The Netherlands.

Since then, supermarket chains across Europe have removed millions of "beef" products while tests are carried out.