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The company which runs the Iceland supermarket franchise in the Republic of Ireland has been placed into examinership.

Examinership is similar to administration in the UK and is a process allowing a financially troubled company time to seek new investment.

Metron Stores Ltd has operated the Iceland stores in the Republic of Ireland since March of this year.

Last week the firm was ordered to withdraw all imported frozen food of animal origin.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said the order applied to products imported into the Republic of Ireland since 3 March.

In addition, the FSAI directed the company to recall affected products and advised consumers not to eat any of the implicated food.

The authority said there was "inadequate evidence of traceability" of imported frozen food from the retailer.

Foods of animal origin are any products that contain ingredients that come from an animal, such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.

The FSAI said while there had been no reports of any illness associated with implicated products there had been "breaches of food legislation and in the interest of consumer protection, this action has been taken”.

Iceland’s stores in NI continue to be directly owned and operated and are not impacted by the issues at Metron Stores.

The examinership was