38 replies to this topic

[malarkey]

More than just bute can show up in horse meat. Stuff like wormers, etc., which I would think would have a worse impact on a human than bute, which is basically aspirin for horses. Wormers come with labeling that indicates they aren't to be used on horses being raised for food.

[Hendrik]

Here in The Netherlands horse meat seems to have gained a lot of popularity due to this scandal. As already mentioned the restaurant being famous for its great steaks (Turned out to be horse, which they happened to sell for over 50 years), is busier than ever. I saw a national supermarket chain had a full page advertisement full of horse meat this weekend and even michelin restaurants are starting to put horse on their menus.

Apart from a horse sausage, which is very famous over here, I have never eaten any horse but can't wait to try a nice sized horse steak.

[PSmith]

Haven't had chance to watch this yesterday, but the tabloids were reporting that "unknown" meat DNA was found in curries bought in London.  By unkown, they mean not beef, pork, lamb, goat, horse or chicken. 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...semeat_Banquet/

[fvandrog]

Haven't had chance to watch this yesterday, but the tabloids were reporting that "unknown" meat DNA was found in curries bought in London.  By unkown, they mean not beef, pork, lamb, goat, horse or chicken. 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...semeat_Banquet/

 

As a biochemist and molecular biologist, I have some problems with understanding how one finds DNA of unknown origin with methods used in food-testing. Generally, one is only prone to find what one looks for. 

[PSmith]

I guess they compared the meat to the normal DNA patterns of the common meats, but it didn't match.  Actually, you may find it was rabbit.  But having said that, I believe rabbit DNA is very similar to cat..... 

[fvandrog]

I guess they compared the meat to the normal DNA patterns of the common meats, but it didn't match.  Actually, you may find it was rabbit.  But having said that, I believe rabbit DNA is very similar to cat..... 

 

In the old days they used PCR based RFLP, these days it's mainly standard PCR for specific sequence patterns. With those methods you only find what you test for. Something must be very closely related to give a hit, but be slightly different from what's expected. Horse and zebra might give something slightly unexpected etc.

 

Cat and rabbit would definitely be sufficiently different to detect with these assays.

[Keith_W]

I also have had some training in molecular biology. I am not sure if the average eG'er would know what a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) is without you explaining it in more simple terms :)

[gfweb]

There is no "average" eGer. With only one or two exceptions we are above average!

 

My worry about this whole horse meat thing is that horse meat contamination is detectable, BSE infected meat probably isn't. If a horse can get in with the cow meat, how much easier would it be for a squirrely BSE cow to be snuck in?

[annabelle]

More than just bute can show up in horse meat. Stuff like wormers, etc., which I would think would have a worse impact on a human than bute, which is basically aspirin for horses. Wormers come with labeling that indicates they aren't to be used on horses being raised for food.

My reading tells me the wormers used in horses are the same as those used in pigs raised for slaughter.  Clearly, we aren't meant to chug any veterinary grade wormers wholesale from the bottle.  However, the wormer has been ingested by the animal and passed through the gut with the dead worms long before slaughter.  Any vestigial wormer in the flesh is harmless.