Nightmares Do Come True: New Study Finds Rat And Human DNA In Some American Burgers

Here’s some news to ruin your lunch/ dinner/ life.

A new molecular study of burgers by Clear Labs in the U.S. found rat DNA in three out of 258 burger product samples.

One of the products even included human DNA.

Don’t laugh too hard, vegetarians. Clear Labs found two instances of meat in vegetarian burger products. And yes, one of those had rat DNA too.

Their report insists that the presence of human DNA or rat DNA is “not likely to be harmful for human health,” but it is certainly harmful to your ability to keep down your last meal. Apparently, the human DNA likely came from hair or fingernails, and fell within the acceptable regulatory range.

Nonetheless, they say “human and rat DNA is a potential indicator of low quality and speaks to issues of inconsistent adherence to handling protocols.”

Of most concern, however, is the discovery of ‘pathogenic’ DNA (like bacterial or viral) in 4.3 per cent of the products. The most common was Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, which, you guessed it, can cause tuberculosis-like symptoms. Consider that one in six Americans suffer from food poisoning each year, and 3,000 of those cases are fatal, resulting in $US7 billion in spending on food outbreaks. Sure seems like America needs to handle their burgers better.

Now that they have your attention, read all about the caloric findings by Clear Labs, and get a better understanding of what goes into pre-packaged burgers (in the States at least). Hopefully Australian standards are a bit higher.

Photo: Fox.