2013 horse meat scandal only found more than 1% horse DNA in Asda's tins of but it also contained four ppb of phenylbutazone, marking the first time since the start of the scandal that bute had been detected in a meat product in the UK food chain. However, one problem raised was over documentation; all of the UK animals with phenylbutazone contamination tested in early 2013 possessed a "horse passport" that allowed the carcasses to be sold for human consumption. The veterinary residues committee (VRC) reminded the public in July 2012 that it had been "repeatedly expressing concern" about phenylbutazone contamination. and recent discoveries
Tesco International operations Easy operated 182 stores across Arizona, California and Nevada. In April 2013, Tesco put the Fresh & Easy chain on sale, booking losses of £1.2bn. It announced the sale of 150 of the stores in the 200 strong chain to private equity firm Yucaipa Companies in September 2013. The BBC reported that the remaining stores were expected to close. The deal included Tesco loaning the venture £80m and retaining an option to buy back a stake in the business if Yucaipa succeeded in turning around the group's performance. Tesco International operations Tesco has expanded its operations outside the UK to