March 2, 2013

McDonald's has directed its meat suppliers in Europe to conduct supplemental DNA testing as a precaution, in the wake of the horse meat scandal spreading throughout the country.

The Oak Brook-based burger giant has not found any horse DNA in its hamburger meat, unlike some of its competitors.

Fast food chains such as Burger King, retailers such as Ikea and grocery chains including Tesco have found horse meat in their products in recent months, which have led to a furor. McDonald's does not do business with any of the suppliers involved in the scandal, the company said.

"We have full confidence in the quality systems we have in place," Anges Vodnai, a spokeswoman for McDonald's Europe said in a statement. "As an additional check, we have directed our suppliers to perform DNA tests to ensure there are no irregularities in their raw material supply."

From the results so far, Vodnai added, "There is nothing to indicate the presence of equine DNA in our beef."

Burger King did not immediately respond to a request for comment.