Ready meals by frozen food giant Findus thought to contain horsemeat instead of beef have been pulled from supermarket shelves in Norway, the country's food safety authorities said on Wednesday.

"Frozen products that may contain horsemeat have been exported to Norway," the body said in a statement, adding that "all the major supermarket chains and Findus have confirmed to the food authority that they have withdrawn the products and they are no longer on the shelves in Norway."