Applicability of a Multiplex PCR Assay for the Identification of Animal Species in Feedstuffs
Abstract
The identification of animal species used in industrial meat products is very important, from economical considerations, in European Union, which has implemented a set of very strict procedures to correctly label food. In this paper we analyzed conserved region from mitochondrial 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes, a powerful region to evaluate the presence of fraudulently added meat in compound food. The multiplex PCR proposed in this study can be considered a valid alternative to the microscopic method for the detection of animal derived materials banned by an European Union Regulation. This assay can be used for the identification of most species (cattle, poultry, swine and fish) fulfilling the need for a high sensitivity method to assess food authentication.a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
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