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Clear labs, a biotech startup in the US has found human and rat DNA in few burgers sold in the country. A couple of vegetarian burgers were also said to have had meat in them. About 258 samples from 79 popular brands and 22 retailers and fast food chains from North California were subjected to DNA test by Clear labs. The samples are regarded as representatives of national and West Coast brands, according to CBS Baltimore.

The samples were screened for contamination, presence of toxigenic fungi and toxic plants, gluten, allergens, major, medium, and minor substitution, authenticity and missing ingredients with the help of next-generation genomic sequencing (NGS) and other reliable tests. The amount of fat, carbohydrates, proteins and calories present in the burgers were also quantified.

"Our tests revealed evidence of substitution in 16 products or 6.6% of all samples. We found beef in 5 samples, chicken in 4 samples, turkey in 3 samples, pork in 2 samples, rye in 2 samples, and sunchoke in 1 sample that was not supposed to contain these ingredients," revealed the report from Clear labs.

Sunchoke which is also referred as "fartichoke" contains a carbohydrate named inulin, which causes bloating and gas problems in some people. The company also noted that people react differently to sunchoke and the exact amount of inulin present in the stuff could not be found.

The report, however, noted that consumers are unaware of the fact that some amount of human and rat DNA in food comes within acceptable regulatory range. Anything falling under acceptable range is believed to cause no harm to people that consume them. And this DNA could be from human skin, hair or fingernail that is accidently mixed with the food stuff during preparation which to some extent is unavoidable.

"The most likely cause is hair, skin, or fingernail that was accidentally mixed in during the manufacturing process," noted the report, reported Independent. "This report provides new insights into the burger product industry to give suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers a representative overview of the supply chain at large and provides insights based on an objective molecular analysis into how we can strengthen the good and improve the bad," said the company.