Is your butcher telling you porkies?

Scientists at Manchester University are developing a test that can detect if your meat is lying to you.

A growing number of food fraud cases have seen high quality meat bulked up with cheaper grades before being sold on to consumers - often with cheap pork being passed off as beef.

But biologists in Manchester have now created a chemical test to differentiate between beef and pork.

They hope it will lead to portable test kits - either using electric probes or disposable testing sticks - allowing food inspectors and even members of the public to carry out their own checks.

Dr Drupad K Trivedi, a research associate from the University of Manchester, who has worked on the research since last summer, told the M.E.N.: “In theory you can look at all kinds of meats but we’re looking at these meats because there is a religious attachment and both are red meats that look similar during processing.”

“Our presumption is suppliers are trying to make economic gains buy suppling cheaper meats. I hope it’s not as prevalent but that’s what were trying to figure out.”

“This research is promising, as it could lead to easier, quicker, cheaper ways of analysing meat qualities.

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The scientist said that food fraud was an increasingly serious problem, with meat mixing often carried out by low level suppliers to supermarkets.

Researchers at Manchester University have been examining metabolites - chemical fingerprints - which can show the precise extent of pork or beef present in a food sample.

Although their study is still on-going, they hope a test can be created in the future.

Dr Trivedi said they also hoped to look at how meat is farmed and processed.

He added: “We are currently investigating how different diets fed to animals and methods of meat preparation affect the metabolites and primary metabolic pathways. This further research will help us confidently eliminate factors that may affect the metabolic signature of a meat species.”

In the meantime Dr Drupad K Trivedi hopes their research will bring about awareness to meat mixing process. He added: “The eventual idea is to create something like an electronic probe or pregnancy stick-like test that can measure give a percentage reading measuring the metabolites in the meat or a yes or no answer.”