Identification of Different Animal Species in Meat and Meat Products: Trends and Advances

Abstract

| Identification of animal species of origin in meat and meat products is a matter of great concerns such as religious, economical, legal as well as medical aspects. Thus, several analytical techniques have been suggested for the identification of meat species either in individual or in mixed samples to protect consumers from the fraudulent and bad habits of marketing. DNA-based techniques especially the techniques based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are recognized as the most appropriate methods employed for species identification in raw and processed meat. PCR techniques including randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (PCR-RAPD), restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), PCR with species-specific primers, real-time PCR and PCR-nucleotide sequencing allow identification of meat species under different processing conditions. But the variability of DNA content on the level of species as well as target tissue make the DNA-based methods somewhat unsuitable for the quantification of exact percentages of different species in meat and meat products. For these reasons the proteomic approaches depending on identification of different peptide biomarkers has been developed and employed to give information on the different composition of food. To broad the knowledge about these technologies, this review is compiled in an attempt to provide an overview of the possible PCR-based analytical techniques that could help in identifying the meat species of origin in meat and meat products and threw the light on the identification of species specific peptide biomarkers by proteomic technologies as a new and attractive alternative that could overcome some of the limitations that faced DNAbased methods especially when used for meat exposed to intensive heating of processing as well as for meat mixtures.

Comparison of DNA Extraction Methods Between Conventional, Kit, Alkali and Buffer-Only for PCR Amplification on Raw and Boiled Bovine and Porcine Meat

“…These results support previous findings, as PCI method has been used in many DNA isolation studies in this field [3,7,12,15]. Compared to PCI method, isolation kit method showed relatively low DNA yield, albeit having good DNA quality.…”

“…However, this method, while reliable, has some drawbacks. Firstly, PCR method requires special equipment and relatively costly reagents, although cheaper than other methods [7]. Secondly, conventional DNA isolation methods (such as phenol-chloroform isoamyl-alcohol or PCI) are also costly, laborintensive, time-consumptive, and requires toxic chemicals [8].…”

“…In this case, heat treated meat, for instance, could potentially damage DNA and complicate the detection for porcine contamination [7]; although DNA was shown to be resilient to heat damage [11]. However, the effectiveness of current DNA isolation protocols,…”

16S rRNA Gene Sequence Analysis of Snow Leopard, Gray Wolf, Horse and Bactrian Camel in Mongolia

“…Meat inspectors need reliable and sensitive techniques to identify meat species when meat is cut, deboned, deformed or processed. These frauds are difficult to detect with protein-based methods of species identification [4]. The nucleic acid based analytics has already been widely used in many fields [4][5][6].…”

“…These frauds are difficult to detect with protein-based methods of species identification [4]. The nucleic acid based analytics has already been widely used in many fields [4][5][6]. So that, there is a need to do DNA sequencing analysis of both endangered and domestic species and elaborate identification method based on DNA.…”