Qualitative analysis of meat and meat products by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) assay was applied to processed and raw meats for the identification of the most used species in foodstuffs such as, ruminant, poultry, fish and pork materials. Specific-species primers, designed according to the conservative regions of 16S rRNA, were used after alignment of the available sequences in the GenBank database. The primers generated specific DNA fragments of 183, 224, 290 and 374 bp length for poultry, fish, pork and ruminant, respectively. The optimized M-PCR assay was applied to 93 commercial meat products and it showed the presence of poultry meat in red meat analyzed, although, it was not indicated on the label.Key words: Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR), meat products, food, salami, sausage