DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Fresh Produce

France Reports Highest Horse DNA In EU Tests

By square1
Share this article
France Reports Highest Horse DNA In EU Tests

Tests ordered by the European Commission for horse DNA in beef products and veterinary painkiller bute in horse meat are expected to show less than 5 per cent horse DNA in tested beef products, with some 0.5 per cent of samples testing positive for bute.

France topped the number of beef products containing horse meat, according to the tests, due to be published this week. 47 of France's 353 beef tests are reported to be positive for horse DNA. The country was behind Germany and Italy in carrying out the highest number of tests.

7,259 tests to identify horsemeat DNA in beef products and bute in horse meat were carried out across the EU following the recent scandal still rocking the food industry. In total, 193 of the 4,144 tests for horse DNA in beef were positive, while 16 samples found the horse painkiller bute.

Greece reported 36 positive samples out of 288 tests, the second-highest in the EU, while Germany tested positive in 29 out of 878 tests.

Ireland, where the contamination of beef products was first highlighted, conducted 50 tests for horse DNA, all of which were negative. However, one of 840 samples of horse meat tested positive for bute.

ADVERTISEMENT

The UK recorded the highest positive results for horsemeat containing bute, with 14 of the 836 samples containing the drug. 150 tests for horse meat in beef products returned negative. (16 April)

© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Sadhbh Connor

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.