The Minister for Agriculture has said he hopes to have answers to how traces of horse meat got into Irish burgers within hours if not days.

They were sold in Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland.

Simon Coveney has moved to allay fears about Irish beef products after horse DNA was found in burgers manufactured in Ireland.

Hopeful of little impact

Minister Coveney spoke to the head of Tesco Ireland this morning to discuss the company concerns.

He said he hopes there is no impact on Irish exports as a result of the crisis.

And the Minister defended the food tracking system in Ireland which he said is robust "from farm to fork" with an audit carried out on one of the processing plants in question Silvercrest just last month.

While the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan says he is also hopeful of minimum impact on the industry.