Meat

Integrity issues

There are four main types of Meat integrity issues:

• Mislabelling of animal species
• Mislabelling of geographical origin
• Mislabelling of production mode (e.g. feeding, hormones, etc.)
• Addition of substances (water, additives, foreign proteins or fat, etc.)

In formulated Meat products, the integrity risk is extended to the non-meat ingredients (e.g.: Herbs and spices, fats & oils): see relevant offers

Potential threat to public health

In 2013 mislabelled meat products containing horse meat were discovered in many European countries, inducing Member States to increase their surveillance. At that time, the main threat for consumers was linked to the presence in some samples of the horsemeat of an anti-inflammatory molecule, phenylbutazone, and this raised concerns that any commercial fraud could in effect hide a sanitary one. This issue led to the setting up of a special Anti-fraud Unit in charge of managing emerging risks by the European Commission.

To date other examples of common frauds in which a risk for human health can be present are:

• The presence of undeclared additives such as sulphites in fresh meat preparation, causing allergic reactions for sensitive people;
• The false declaration of geographical origin of the meat or meat product, in order to cover up a source in which a sanitary risk may be present (i.e. contaminants, hormonal treatment, infectious diseases).

To preserve Meat reputation and consumer health, monitor their integrity through analytical testing

Our expertise 

Eurofins companies support the Meat sector, with the commitment to better serve you and to reply to all your issues with our very wide portfolio of testing.

When other ingredients are used (e.g. Herbs and spices, fats & oilss) , suitable testing methods can also be applied to check their integrity

Eurofins Network Offer

FOODINTEGRITY HANDBOOK

Eurofins is partner of FoodIntegrity Handbook, a useful companion written by nearly 50 experts in food authenticity

🔎  Find the Meat Chapter here