This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 6 2025.
A new pilot project by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration introduces a DNA-tool to test several meat- and fish products for their various contents. This new method is far more effective than previous testing methods that were limited to examine one species at a time. It allows for general testing of a product without demanding suspicion of a specific species being involved. While it’s initial scope is limited to the pilot project, the testing of 54 products revealed that 20 % of tested products showed traces of animals that were not on the ingredient list. This result was especially concerning for the area of fished goods, where tested fish balls contained up to 16 different species. Although this can be explained by a variety of factors, such as traces of multiple species of fish being a result of the food chain, it still indicates a lack of transparency. An accredited laboratory in Portugal also continuously cross-checked the testing to ensure that the method worked and that the results were reliable.
