Dive Summary:
- After discovering 29% horse meat in bargain-brand "beef" burgers at its Silvercrest food processing, the chain supermarket giant Tesco will implement DNA testing for all of its meat products.
- While food retailers and processors have not DNA tested their meat products up till now, that is all about to change, according to industry experts such as Patrick Wall, former chairman of the Food Safety Authority for the European Union.
- While the horse meat scandal is sparking imminent changes in the industry from food labeling to quality assurance, Wall claims that consumers should not be overly alarmed as almost all meat products contain trace elements of other meat products and such minimal cross-contamination is almost impossible to prevent.
From the article:
"... Until now, supermarkets and food processors have not employed DNA testing of their meat products to confirm whether there are traces of other species in products marked as chicken, pork, beef, lamb or fish. That's because such findings have no bearing on food safety, only the integrity of labeling.
But a string of food processors and retailers say they're planning to introduce such testing after the Food Safety Authority of Ireland – determined to confirm whether food labels on meat and fish are honest and accurate – has used DNA testing to show that "pure" processed meat products often contain traces of other animals slaughtered in the same facilities or carried in the same vehicles. ..."