Identifying the species of origin in commercial sausages in South Korea

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a rapid and reliable method for identifying the species origin of the meat in commercial sausages using amplification patterns for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Forty commercial sausages were purchased from retail markets and subjected to mtDNA analysis. Two mtDNA markers were used for amplifying the meat source DNA. To optimize the PCR conditions, gradient PCR reactions were carried out to determine the primer annealing temperatures, and real-time PCR was done to check the minimal amount of DNA solution and to examine the cross-reaction. PCR products were observed on the gels suggesting that DNA molecules may be useful in the identification of the meat source in processed sausages. A similarity search of the DNA sequences showed that they were from pig, chicken, and fish, as described on the product labels. The real-time PCR results showed that the PCR products were observed above 10 fg (0.01 pg)/μl concentrations in pig, chicken, and processed fish meat DNA. No significant amplification was found in cross-species. This PCR-based molecular method using mtDNA markers may provide useful information for food safety and traceability purposes by supplying molecular evidence for detecting and identifying the meat sources used in sausage production.