Traceability of Bovine Meat and Bone Meal in Poultry by Stable Isotope Analysis Mail Address

Bovine meat and bone meal (MBM) was widely used in animal diets until outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encefalopathy (BSE) occurred in some countries. It has not been confirmed yet whether or not BSE may be transmitted to man through chicken meat originated from poultry that had been fed diets containing MBM. Therefore, consumers nowadays express preference for meat originated from birds fed exclusively vegetable diets. This study analyzed samples of major breast muscle (Pectoralis major) using mass spectrometry of stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) as a means to assess the presence of MBM in broiler diets, a technique that might be used in the certification of poultry quality. A total of 150 day-old chicks were reared in five randomized treatments with increasing MBM dietary inclusion levels (0, 1, 2, 4 and 8%). On day 42, breast muscle samples were collected from three birds per treatment and used in the determination of 13C/12C and 15N/14N isotope ratios. The breast muscle isotope values were expressed as delta in parts per thousand (δ). The following carbon isotope values (13C) were found:-18.74–0.11,-18.51–0.19,-18.24–0.10,-17.79 –0.12, and 17.15–0.15 for 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 % MBM dietary levels, respectively. Nitrogen isotope values (15N) were 1.65–0.14