A FOOD research company in Surrey has developed a new test for food contamination following the horsemeat scandal.
Leatherhead Food Research, which provides food testing and quality management for the food industry, has created a new test which can detect 0.01 per cent horse DNA in food products.
The company, which has its laboratories and head office in Randalls Way, has been hired by several global organisations to test their products for contamination following the scandal.
Speaking to the Mirror, company CEO Professor Paul Berryman explained the facility's scientists and researchers had had a very busy few months.
"Our scientists have been advising food companies on horsemeat contamination since the start of the scandal," he said.
"We can now test for horsemeat in three different ways including ELISA plates and dipsticks, and now the new, EU-approved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA method.
"We have been particularly careful to check that the test is reliable and sensitive enough to give accurate and meaningful results."
The test detects the presence of horse DNA in fresh meat or uncooked food products such as beef burgers.