Sandwich ELISA for Detection of Pig Meat in Raw Beef Using Antisera to Muscle Soluble Proteins

Abstract

A double-antibody sandwich ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) has been successfully developed for the detection of defined amounts of pig meat (1–50%) in raw beef. Antibodies against pig sarcoplasmic extracts were produced in rabbits. Pig-specific antibodies were affinity purified by removing antibodies which crossreacted with horse, chicken or beef extracts followed by immunoadsorption and elution from a pig-extract column. The ELISA involved capturing antigens in sarcoplasmic extracts with pig specific antibodies immobilized on 96-well plates, detecting bound antigen with pig specific, horseradish peroxidase-labeling antibody, and measuring peroxidase activity by the conversion of a clear substrate to a colored product.