Russia finds horsemeat in sausages from Austria

Russian officials said on Wednesday that horsemeat had been found in sausages imported from Austria.

Rosselkhoznadzor, a Russian agriculture watchdog, said a shipment of beef sausages was tested and found to contain horse DNA, reported BBC News. The company that supplied the meat has now been removed from a list of approved suppliers.

More from GlobalPost: IKEA meatballs found to contain horsemeat

"It came two days ago from Austria," Alexei Alexeyenko, an aide to Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergei Dankvert, told Agence France-Presse. He noted that the shipment was over 20 tons.

The contaminated meat will now either be destroyed or returned to the Austrian supplier.

While horsemeat is traditionally a delicacy in Russia that can be found in many restaurants and stores, Alexeyenko said the problem with the meat in question was that it was not clearly labeled as coming from horses.

More from GlobalPost: Burger King caught in horsemeat scandal

"We are talking about adulterated meat products containing horsemeat," he said. "The source of this meat is unknown," he noted, adding that old, ill animals could have been used to make it.

According to Reuters, Russia's Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) "expressed serious concerns about serious problems in the system of control over the migration of controlled items on the territory of the European Union and their export."