Is there any DNA test taken in meat processing plants to determine whether or not human meat is being ground into the mix?

The short version: no, meat plants do not routinely DNA-test for human tissue, and the science that could do it exists but is aimed at animal species, not people.

The DNA methods in the literature are real and sensitive. PCR-based tests can detect a specific mammal's DNA down to about 10 picograms, and multiplex assays can identify 13 animal species at once, including cattle, pig, and monkey [1, 13]. A 2025 review confirms these tools are used for food adulteration checks, like spotting pork in beef or monkey meat in other products [3]. Nothing in the retrieved evidence describes any plant testing for human DNA, and no regulation requires it.

The gap is not technical. It is economic and legal. Testing costs money, and the industry has no incentive to look for a contamination that would shut it down. The burden sits on the consumer, not the producer. If you want certainty about what is in ground meat, the honest answer is that you cannot get it from the label or the plant. You can only get it from independent testing, and that testing is not happening at scale.

My call: there is no routine human-DNA testing in meat plants, and the evidence base for it simply does not exist. Confidence: high on the absence of routine testing, not clear on what a broader audit would find.