RAPD and SCAR markers as potential tools for detection of milk origin in dairy products: Adulterant sheep breeds in Serra da Estrela cheese production.
Serra da Estrela Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese is the most famous Portuguese cheese and has a high commercial value. However, the adulteration of production with cheaper/lower-quality milks from non-autochthones ovine breeds compromises the quality of the final product and undervalues the original PDO cheese. A Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was developed for efficient detection of adulterant breeds in milk mixtures used for fraudulent production of this cheese. Furthermore, Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers were designed envisioning the detection of milk adulteration in processed dairy foods. The RAPD-SCAR technique is here described, for the first time, to be potentially useful for detection of milk origin in dairy products. In this sense, our findings will play an important role on the valorization of Serra da Estrela cheese, as well as on other high-quality dairy products prone to adulteration, contributing to the further development of the dairy industry.
CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. Electronic address: jcunha@ceb.uminho.pt.
Joana T
JT
Cunha
Center for Technology and Innovation, Agriculture and Food Technologies Department, BLC3 Association - Platform for the Development of Center Inner Region, Av. Calouste Gulbenkian n° 71 Zona Industrial, 3400-060 Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal. Electronic address: tania.ribeiro@blc3.pt.
Tânia I B
TI
Ribeiro
Center for Technology and Innovation, Agriculture and Food Technologies Department, BLC3 Association - Platform for the Development of Center Inner Region, Av. Calouste Gulbenkian n° 71 Zona Industrial, 3400-060 Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal. Electronic address: joao.bernardo@blc3.pt.
João B
JB
Rocha
Center for Technology and Innovation, Agriculture and Food Technologies Department, BLC3 Association - Platform for the Development of Center Inner Region, Av. Calouste Gulbenkian n° 71 Zona Industrial, 3400-060 Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal. Electronic address: joao.nunes@blc3.pt.
João
J
Nunes
CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. Electronic address: jateixeira@deb.uminho.pt.
José A
JA
Teixeira
CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. Electronic address: luciliad@deb.uminho.pt.
Lucília
L
Domingues
D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D002611:Cheese / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005843:Geography; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D011174:Portugal; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique / Q000379:methods*; D012756:Sheep / Q000235:genetics*
Milk adulteration; Ovine breeds; Quality control; RAPD; SCAR; Serra da Estrela cheese