Just say neigh

A strangely mixed reaction to the news that some cheap, frozen beefburgers on sale in Britain & Ireland have been found to contain horse DNA. Supermarkets are mortified by the damage to their reputation, but radio programmes invite listeners to ring in with their best jokey reactions.

And I am left wondering how sound is the inference that a given proportion of horse DNA, as measured by the amplification of specific pieces of DNA through the enzymatic process known as PCR, implies the same relative content of horse meat to beef in the finished product.

Links
FSAI survey finds horse DNA in some beefburger products
[PDF]Table of results of beefburger study
FAQs: Horse & pork DNA in meat products
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