05 Sep New research shows a fifth of samples contain unspecified animals’ DNA

Posted at 12:44h in Blog, Meat speciation by

New research* released today shows that little progress may have been made since the last food scandal in 2013. Out of 665 results from England, Wales and Northern Ireland collected by the Food Standards Agency, 145 were partly or wholly made up of unspecified meat.

This latest data comes five years after the horsemeat scandal, when processed beef products sold by a number of UK supermarket chains were found to contain significant amounts of horse DNA. Primerdesign was credited as being one of the leading providers of DNA testing kits during this period**.

In total 73 of the contaminated samples came from retailers – including three supermarkets. A further 50 came from restaurants, while 22 originated from manufacturing or food processing plants.

The genesig® Speciation Kits

The genesig Meat and Fish Speciation Kits provide a method for detecting adulterated meat DNA in food samples. The meat and fish speciation kits make detection to less than 0.1% adulteration possible.

All genesig Meat and Fish Speciation Kits are produced after a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis followed by careful design to be highly sensitive for both raw and cooked samples.

It is possible to test many different species of meat and fish, such as:

  • Beef
  • Chicken
  • Donkey
  • Fish (such as Atlantic Cod, European Plaice, haddock and pollock)
  • Goat
  • Horse
  • Pig
  • Sheep/lamb
  • And many more

Click here to learn more about our meat speciation test kits.

The genesig q16 offers DNA detection of species determination, pathogen detection and much more

The genesig q16 is a DNA detection instrument which offers direct identification of food products and what’s within them.  Real-time PCR DNA detection allows for animal/plant foods products to be speciated and to also identify whether a bacteria, fungus or virus has contaminated the food. Additionally, it enables quick, easy and accurate clean down validation.

We currently have some fantastic bundle offers on the q16 and genesig qPCR kits – click here to learn more!

Why choose genesig q16 over traditional techniques?

For more information on our meat speciation kits or the genesig q16, please contact us at enquiry@primerdesign.co.uk or call +44 (23) 8074 8830.

Sources
* BBC News: Meat testing: Meat testing: A fifth of samples reveal unspecified animals’ DNA
** Wikipedia:  2013 horse meat scandal