Quantitative PCR detection of pork in raw and heated ground beef and pâté.
Quantitative estimates are important to establish whether pork adulteration in ground beef and pâté is accidental or intentional. A PCR procedure has been developed and evaluated to quantify pork in heated and nonheated meat and pâtés by densitometry using a specific and sensitive repetitive DNA element. Thirty, twenty-five, and twenty PCR cycles were carried out to find the best standard curve and correlation between pork content and band intensity. Twenty cycles showed the best results, quantifying degree contamination up to 1% pork in beef (heated and nonheated) and pork in duck pâté with a minimum error. Finally, fraud was found in commercial pâtés.
Laboratorio de Genetica Bioquimica, Facultad de Veterinaria, c/Miguel Servet 177, 50013-Zaragoza, Spain. jhcalvo@inia.es
Jorge H
JH
Calvo
Rosario
R
Osta
Pilar
P
Zaragoza
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020086:Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements / Q000235:genetics; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics*
D004247:DNA