Assimilated law (formerly retained EU law in Great Britain) and EU poultry marketing legislation require poultry meat to be marketed as fresh (chilled), frozen or quick-frozen, as applicable. Previously frozen poultry must not be marketed as fresh.
A robust analytical method for distinguishing fresh from previously frozen poultry has now been published as a European standard: EN 18179:2026, Food authenticity — Method for detecting previously frozen poultry meat by determination of HADH activity. The standard is available through national standards organisations. In the UK, it is available via BSI: BSOL British Standards Online.
The method measures β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HADH) activity in juice expressed from poultry meat samples. The ratio of HADH activity before and after laboratory freezing is compared with a defined cut-off value to determine whether the sample has previously been frozen.
EN 18179:2026 is believed to be the first published standard to specify a chemical/ biochemical analytical method for determining whether poultry meat has previously been frozen, providing a robust analytical tool for food authenticity testing, regulatory enforcement and consumer confidence.
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