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The inclusion of offal, which usually has a lower value than meat, in any meat product in the EU and UK must be declared on the label. This literature review investigated appropriate methods to determine the adulteration of meat with offal, especially those technologies suitable for future validation to underpin a high throughput, low-cost method suitable for application by enforcement laboratories. The technologies, which determine elemental composition and peptide markers, were particularly highlighted as demonstrating potential for future development.

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German researchers have developed and undertaken an in-house validation of an LC-MS and LC-MS/MS-based assay for authenticity testing of certain fish species. An enzyme digest and trypsin hydrolysis of freeze dried samples of commercially available Lutjanus malabaricus (red snapper) and Sebastes spp. (redfish) were analysed by LC-electrospray-MS and MS/MS assay with multivariate analysis, which enabled the two species to be  distinguished from each other. An additional 68 samples [nine additional marine species such as pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), salmon (Salmo salar), turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), sole (Solea solea), lemon sole (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), halibut (Reinhardtius hypoglossoides), red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), and great scallop (Pecten jacobaeus)] served as blinded negative controls to ensure the specificity of the assay. 

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Russian researchers have published a paper on their development of proteomic and peptide identification to identify pork, beef , horse and poultry in meat produced after slaughter. The methodology development can identify peptides which occur in specific tissues or fluids associated with meat species. The researchers are planning the next stage of using the peptide information of the raw materials to identify species in meat products.

  Read the full paper here