News

This assay was developed to have a cheaper, simpler and more rapid assay to detect meat species substitution. A novel direct lysis (DL) method was used to extract DNA directly from meat tissue, and to obtain a sample of DNA for multiplex PCR within 15 min, which is more rapid than using a commercial lysis kit.  Four pairs of high-specificity primers for the mitochondrial D-loop region of beef, pork, chicken and duck were designed. When optimised, the assay could detect pork, chicken and duck down to 0.1% (w/w) in meat mixtures even when the meat sample had undergone freezing, heating and autoclaving. The assay was evaluated by testing 79 commercial beef products collected in local markets, and found that nearly 28% of these contained pork or chicken to varying degrees. The accuracy of the results was verified by repeating the analysis using a standard real-time PCR. 

Read the abstract here

Crustaceans are high value foods with a high incidence of species substitution. German researchers have developed a multiplex RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) assay to identify four important commercial crustaceans - giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri), and Dublin Bay prawn or scampi (Nephrops norvegicus). The specificity of the assay was confirmed by testing more than 30 crustacean species, and the performance of the method was evaluated with varyingly processed crustaceans, as well as with commonly used spices and herbs. 

Read the abstract here

Chinese researchers have developed a multiplex PCR assay using universal primers based on mitochondrial DNA to identify 8 species (dog, chicken, cattle, pig, horse, donkey, fox, and rabbit) simultaneously in meat products. The assay was tested on 103 commercial meat products from the Chinese market, which demonstrated its effectiveness and applicability.

 Read the abstract here

Researchers have a developed a multiplex PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay to identify beef, pork, horse and poultry (chicken, turkey) and determine these species quantitatively in meat products. The qualitative assay uses a mitochondrial cytochrome b gene marker. The quantitative assay uses singlecopy markers from chromosomal genes (cyclic-GMP-phosphodiesterase gene for cattle, beta-actin gene for pig, interleukin-2 gene for chicken), and the normaliser is from the myostatin gene for mammals and poultry. The reliability of both methods was confirmed by analysing of mixed samples prepared with or without heat treatment. The assay was tested with 14 meat products from the Czech retail market with two having undeclared species and another 4 products giving an incorrect quantitative declaration. 

 Read the abstratct here

A lab-on-a-chip-based multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the authentication of five non-halal meat species in foods is described. Using species-specific primers, 172, 163, 141, 129 and 108-bp sites of mitochondrial ND5, ATPase 6 andcytochrome b genes were amplified to detect cat, dog, pig, monkey and rat species under complex matrices. Species-specificity was authenticated against 20 different species with the potential to be used in food. The assay was optimised under the backgrounds of various commercial meat products and validated for the analysis of meatballs, burgers and frankfurters, which are popular fast food items across the globe. The assay was tested to detect 0.1% suspected meats under commercial backgrounds of marketed foods.

Read more in Food Additives and Contaminants at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19440049.2015.1087060