University of Guelph researchers test hamburgers sold in Canada, found they were 100 per cent beef
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
You can go back to eating your favorite fast food burgers not having to worry whether or not your burger contains horsemeat.
The Canadian public became concerned over the horse meat scandal that’s been playing out in Europe which found that frozen, all-beef products sold across Europe contained undeclared horsemeat in a number of beef products.
Following these reports, the University of Guelph-based Biodiversity Institute of Ontario decided to uncover if popular fast food burgers sold in Canada contained horsemeat as well. Using advanced DNA testing on a wide range of burgers sold in Canada, the results showed that they were all 100 per cent beef.
The six (cooked) burgers that were tested were the following: A&W's Mama Burger, Burger King's Whopper, Dairy Queen's FlameThrower, Harvey's original burger, the McDonald's Big Mac, and Wendy's Bacon Double Cheeseburger.
The DNA testing was also conducted on (frozen) burgers as well from the following: Beef Steakettes (Schneiders), Lick's Homeburgers, M&M Meat Shops Supreme Homestyle Beef Burgers, No Name Beef Burgers (Loblaws), Outlaw Beef Burgers (Schneiders), President's Choice Thick and Juicy Beef Burgers, and Webers Beef Burgers.
In addition to the cooked and frozen burgers that were tested, lean ground beef (in a tube) was also tested which came from Better Beef (Cargill) and Food Basics ground beef as well.
All of the tests showed that the hamburger meat was beef. As a Canadian, you can rest assured that the hamburgers that you are buying are 100 per cent beef with no substitutes or additions.