Portable Pulsar Can Tell Horse Meat from Beef

Dec-04-14 The inexpensive, portable Pulsar device is able differentiate horse meat from beef, helping to assure food distributors—and the public—that their meat is properly identified.

In the wake of the UK meat scandal in 2013, officials became aware of the need to identify meat quickly and accurately. Previously, such identification was done by DNA testing, which is time-consuming, complex and expensive—and not at all portable.

The Pulsar device, developed by IFR an Oxford Instruments, works by identifying the meats based on their different fat signature. A high resolution bench-top NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometer, the Pulsar was inspired by standard MRI scanner technology, but is made much smaller by replacing the supercooled coils of a typical scanner with permanent magnets. The device is able to deliver accurate results in only ten minutes, and is small enough to be used on site.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
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