Eurofins Scientific reports that it has increased its testing capacity to detect horsemeat in meat products by reallocating some of the equipment from its other lines of molecular testing. Eurofins claims it currently has the largest capacity for authenticity and DNA analysis of any independent food testing service provider to address the ongoing horsemeat scandal in Europe.
According to company officials, Eurofins’ Ebersberg, Germany-based Competence Center for DNA Analysis was the first independent international laboratory that confirmed the contamination of beef with horsemeat in Ireland having been commissioned by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to conduct independent confirmatory testing on meat samples at the end of December 2012. The Ebersberg laboratory is currently rolling out its competencies in DNA analyses to the rest of Eurofins’ laboratories in Europe to assist the food industry across the entire supply chain in response to the ongoing scandal, explained an Eurofins spokesperson.
The horsemeat scandal took off early this year when traces of horsemeat were found in beef burgers that were being sold in the U.K. and Ireland. France and Sweden are also concerned about suspected cases of horse meat contamination in those countries.