British meat industry to introduce DNA testing
DNA testing on meat products will be introduced in tbe wake of recent cases of horsemeat contamination in British meat.
The decision was made following a meeting between the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and industry officials, with an assurance that all results would be made available to consumers.
The announcement follows the publication of an FSA report that found meat at a factory in Northern Ireland was 80% horsemeat. Meat tested at Freeza Meats in Newry was potentially linked to the Silvercrest factory in Ireland, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat burgers scandal. According to the FSA, an investigation into the traceability of raw materials and their source is underway, however the body added that the meat had not yet entered the food chain.
Further concerns about the traceability of food deepened at the weekend when halal food supplied to prisons by a Northern Irish-based company was found to contain traces of pork DNA.
The new testing programme will commence once standardised testing methods and DNA levels have been agreed.
