Fifth of meat goods revealed alien DNA

UNIDENTIFIED animal DNA was found in more than a fifth of samples of meat products tested by the food watchdog last year, it has emerged.

Among products testing positive for undeclared animal flesh were dishes from three supermarkets and convenience stores, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said.

They included curries, pizzas, ready meals and restaurant food.

Out of 665 results from England, Wales and Northern Ireland collected, 145 were partly or wholly made up of unspecified meat.

Local authorities tested foods that they already suspected may have been contaminated.

The FSA said the levels were consistent with “deliberate inclusion”.

In the worst case, meat products contained no DNA from the animal or animals listed on packs. Some samples contained DNA from as many as four different animals. The samples came from 487 businesses, including restaurants and supermarkets.

A BBC Freedom of Information request to the FSA revealed that, 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.

Meat labelled as lamb was most likely to contain traces of other animals’ DNA, followed by beef and goat.

Cow DNA was the most commonly found contaminant, followed by pig, chicken, sheep and turkey.

The most commonly mislabelled product was mince meat, while sausages, kebabs and restaurant curries also featured prominently.

It comes after this newspaper revealed that “meatfree” and vegan food sold at leading supermarkets contained traces of meat. Jewish and Muslim groups warned consumers would be “distressed” to learn they had inadvertently eaten pork.