A FOOD supplier has moved to reassure parents that food contaminated with horsemeat has not been served up in schools in Oxfordshire.

Yesterday Carillion Plc, which provides Oxfordshire’s school and hospital meals service, said it has been offered “solid reassurance” that its food had not been contaminated.

A spokesman said: “We work closely with our suppliers to ensure the soundness of our food supply chain.

“All our suppliers have confirmed that they have not supplied us with products or ingredients that have been sourced from any of the meat suppliers cited by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and that all meat products do not contain DNA of any species other than that declared.

“In light of potential criminal and fraudulent activity in meat trading throughout Europe, and to offer an additional level of reassurance, Carillion will independently review the testing of meat samples in line with protocols recently announced by the FSA.”

The FSA issued a warning to headteachers and hospital chiefs on the back of a refusal from the Government to give assurance hospitals and schools would not be drawn into the national scandal.

Carillion took over the contract for supplying primary and secondary school meals when it was outsourced by Oxfordshire County Council in July.

The council said it had no plans to look at its previous service.

A spokesman said: “There is nothing to suggest that there were any problems with our supplies at this time.”

Retailer Aldi, which has supermarkets in Oxford, Bicester, Carterton and Banbury, is the latest big name to be drawn into the horsemeat scandal. It withdrew its own brand lasagne and spaghetti bolognese products from sale on Friday.