At first blush, there appear to be few winners from the horsemeat scandal currently plaguing the European food industry. But for specialist firms who provide testing equipment for meat processors, the storm of bad news could prove to be a boon.

The scandal began on January 16, when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced it had discovered horse DNA in products being sold as beef to burger manufacturers. Some finished products had a horsemeat content of as high as 29%. Retailers including Tesco, Aldi and Iceland pulled 10 million burger products from their shelves.