Three different articles have been published in the past month relating to analytical methods to detect fraudulent claims of Halal production. Each method can be used to disprove a specific aspect of the Halal claim.
One verification requirement is a quick and obvious test for economically motivated adulteration with pork. Researchers at South-Central Minzu University, China (link – purchase required) used isothermal amplification with CRISPR/Cas12a cleavage to target and measure a porcine-specific gene in nuclear DNA. Use of nuclear DNA gave a linear calibration in a 25-minute point-of-use test allowing quantitation down to 5% of added pork.
Halal production also mandates the segregation of pork to avoid cross-contamination. Detection methods are also needed that are sensitive enough to identify segregation failure. Researchers from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (link – open access) reported a novel isothermal amplification technique, Polymerase Spiral Reaction, of mitochondrial DNA. They reported good sensitivity, with a 65-minute point-of-use assay able to detect contamination down to 0.5% of pork in beef.
A third aspect is dilution with meat which has not been Halal slaughtered. A perennial problem in many countries is the inclusion of meat from animals which died prior to their planned slaughter; termed “casualty animals” in Europe or “carrion meat” (or “tiren”) in SE Asia. A team from the National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia (Link – purchase required) have published a review of chemical, biochemical and physical markers that can be used to distinguish carrion meat from slaughtered meat. A panel of 14 parameters were selected that could form the basis of an Indonesian national standard. They include malachite green-H2O2, correlated protein with meat texture, peroxiredoxin-6, blood biochemistry, blood pH, capacitance value, meat colour, Warner-Bratzler shear force, blood loss variation, meat quality, water holding capacity (WHC), resistance value, E. coli load, and coliform load.
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