No abstract

Summary Two TaqMan™‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems have been developed which permit the detection of even minute amounts of beef and pork in processed foods. In these methods cattle‐specific primers amplified a fragment from the phosphodiesterase gene having a length of 104 base pairs (bp), and the swine‐specific primers amplified a fragment from the ryanodin gene having a length of 108 bp. Beyond this, a third TaqMan™‐PCR system, developed on the basis of the detection of the myostatin gene, permits a reliable exclusion of false‐negative results by detecting meat from a variety of mammals or poultry in the material to be tested.

Defined samples were examined regarding the proportion of beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken and turkey utilising TaqMan TM PCR. A quantification was performed for determining the proportion of animal species in relation to the total proportion of meat in the food products. The adoption of published real-time PCR systems (International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2005) permitted a quantitative statement in processed meat products and in canned foods down to a concentration of 0.1%. Different factors influencing the amount of species determined were investigated.

Different TaqMan TM -polymerase chain reaction systems have been developed, which allow the detection of even minute amounts of beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, turkey and duck in processed foods. The speciesspecific systems are able to amplify DNA regions with no more than 108 bp in size (exception: duck, 212 bp) located on the single-copy genes cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) phosphodiesterase, ryanodine receptor and interleukin-2 precursor. The parallel detection of the common ingredient 'meat' produced from mammals and poultry was based on the amplification of a region of the myostatin gene. The limit of detection was determined to be ten genome copies for each system. The relative SD under repeatability condition was below 30%. In addition, a 'ready-to-use' reaction plate has been developed, which makes it possible to investigate the presence of the seven animal species in parallel after a single real-time run.

The Council of Europe created an outline for a vigilant system of undesirable effects of cosmetic products in 2006. In 2013, some of those aspects were included in the European Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009. Since then, serious undesirable effects (SUEs), which are the tip of the iceberg of all undesirable effects of cosmetic products, have to be reported to competent authorities. Neglecting the first phase of establishing the system, we have about two years of experience regarding the notification of SUEs. This notification system is based on a huge amount of cases that allow us to identify occurring problems at an early stage through a signal of increased reported cases for a certain product. It has already been shown that the system is able to identify products that have the potential to cause health risks even if they seem to comply with the legal requirements and the safeguard clause was applied. Until May 2016, 680 cases of SUEs were shared in the EU. The statistics of SUEs indicate that hair dyes and skin care products are the product types that cause the most SUEs. Almost 80% of all SUEs occurred in the head area, especially the skin of the face was affected.