This review article covers the use of low-cost point-of-use molecular biology methods for meat speciation testing; methods such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) or gold nanoparticles linked with oligonucleotides. Such methods are currently more widely used in clinical applications than in authenticity testing but there have been recent publications showing use for meat speciation. The authors conclude that the introduction of these new DNA technologies has facilitated the ease and accuracy of fraud detection. These closed-tube methods (“molecular probes”) are robust and highly sensitive for the specific amplification of target DNA and are also rapid, low-cost and available on site.
This review provides an overview of the molecular methods developed that can be applied for investigating ground meat adulteration and focuses on the advantages of the rapid closed tube methods that can yield colour results interpreted with the naked eye. The application of such time- and cost-effective molecular tools in the food market is proposed to provide a first-level filter for meat adulterated products, serving as a complementary tool to the more in-depth -omics approach.
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