No horsemeat found in county's school or hospital meals

Your Worcester News can reveal today that samples taken from schools across the county and Worcester-shire Royal Hospital have conclusively tested negative for equine DNA.

Worcestershire County Council’s scientific services team in Warndon, Worcester, has been working around the clock testing a variety of food samples from across the UK since news of the horsemeat scandal broke in January.

Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), scientists have analysed DNA samples to detect and measure any presence of DNA from another species.

Nationally, samples in some tests of processed food labelled as containing beef have been found to contain up to 100 per cent horsemeat.

But no food tested from Worcester-shire food businesses, or supplied to schools or hospitals, has shown any trace elements of horse DNA.

Paul Hancock, the council’s public analyst and scientific advisor for scientific services, said: “This is an extraordinarily busy period for the scientific services team.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve been working in partnership both with organisations around the UK in testing a huge quantity of food samples, and with the press and broadcast media to inform residents and businesses as to the issues involved, the work being carried out, and to provide support and reassurance regarding any concerns.

“We’re very pleased to be able to confirm that there is no horsemeat present in school meals or meals from Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and I’m sure this will come as a great relief to parents of children attending our schools, as well as to the hospital’s patients and their families.”

Julia Marshall, the council’s catering contracts officer, said: “This news that our school meals and the samples from Worcestershire Royal Hospital have proved free of equine DNA is excellent and confirms what we already knew, that parents of children in our schools can be confident of the quality and labelling of the school meals provided.”