A single test can now reveal the presence of meat from any of 32 different species in food samples, enabling a wide range of important questions to be answered.These include whether chicken has been bulked up with beef or pork extracts; whether expensive albacore tuna is really cheap skipjack tuna; whether rats, mice or even bits of people fell into the mincer when your burger was being made; and whether unscrupulous companies are risking spreading mad cow disease by adding beef to cattle feed?The test, based on a DNA chip, is being evaluated by food regulatory authorities in Europe, and could also be used by supermarkets and food companies to check on their suppliers.
