The UK National Meaurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC has shared a case study on a groundbreaking method for DNA meat species quantitation. This method, funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has now been officially published as a European standard (EN 18033:2024) by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).
Released in January 2025, this is the first harmonised standard for the relative quantitation of horse DNA in food samples and was initiated following the 2013 horse meat incident which challenged consumer confidence in the quality and authenticity of the food they were buying. The standard provides business operators, regulators, and compliance authorities with a robust and repeatable approach for determining the level of meat adulteration in raw beef products.
This milestone represents a significant advancement in food authenticity and food fraud prevention testing, ensuring greater transparency and trust in the food industry.
Read more about this case study.
