Sainsbury's will confuse consumers with its introduction of BSE testing on beef, according to rival supermarkets. The multiple announced this week that it will trial the new test for slaughtered cattle at its suppliers' abattoirs. But an Asda spokesman said the measure was misguided. He said: "Sainsbury's says it introduced the tests in response to a crisis in customer confidence. But there is no such crisis. "At Asda, customers are buying more beef than at the outset of the BSE crisis. We already have very rigorous controls in place." And a Food Standards Agency spokesman said: "Our expert evidence is that testing beef for BSE is not necessary on grounds of public health. It is entirely a matter for Sainsbury's, though." At Safeway a spokeswoman said: "We are adhering to stringent guidelines from the government and the FSA. We are satisfied that those processes rule out any issues with BSE. Tests such as the one adopted by Sainsbury's are still in their developmental phase." Swiss scientists developed the EU-approved tests which pick up abnormal prion protein. Alec Kyriakides, Sainsbury chief microbiologist said: "We set ourselves very high food safety standards, so we will always trial the latest techniques." {{NEWS }}

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