© Getty ImagesClear Labs did not name the 79 brands that sold the burgers in the study.
Upon ordering a burger in a fast food chain, diners might have already come to terms with the fact there is a very slim chance of
horse meat lurking under that tomato.
But the additions of rat and human DNA could be harder to swallow.A new
study from US-based food testing company Clear Labs has discovered, from a sample of 258 burgers, two cases of meat in vegetarian products, three burgers with rat DNA and one case of human DNA.
"The most likely cause is hair, skin, or fingernail that was accidentally mixed in during the manufacturing process," it read, referring to the human DNA.
"What many consumers don't know is that some amounts of human and rat DNA may fall within an acceptable regulatory range," the report added.
It also found that there are "gaps" in food safety and quality standards, but overall the beef industry has "benefited from stringent regulation and aggressive testing requirements".
Of larger concern than the "unpleasant" DNA findings was that almost a quarter of vegetarian burgers have different ingredients to those on the label.
Two veggie burgers contained beef, and one black bean burger contained no black beans.
Comment: A 2014 study underscored the role of pesticides in bee declines and questioned the pesticide industry's focus on the Varroa mite, and the pathogens they transmit, as the cause of the dramatic honey bee colony losses seen in the U.S. In the study, researchers monitored 18 colonies and treated six with pesticides, and six were left untreated as controls. Varroa mite infestations were found in all colonies, as is typical for most bee hives in the U.S. Nevertheless, 50% of the colonies treated with pesticides died, and only one out of the six control hives died (17%).