DNA forensics in combating food frauds: A study from China in identifying canned meat labelled as deer origin

Abstract

Now-a-days processed and canned food products are consumed in increasing quantity in all developing and developed countries following changes in human lifestyle. However, customers are often fooled by products they buy and such frauds frequently go unreported since species identification requires technical inputs and considerable time and efforts. We bought two canned meat packets labelled as 'classic delicious deer meat' from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai (People's Republic of China) to understand its origin as deer meat is legally prohibited in many parts of the world. In this study, we screened these samples with DNA barcoding approach using conserved mitochondrial genes. Homology search on NCBI and phylogenetic analysis identified these samples to have originated from a domestic pig of China. We propose that the methodology used is appropriate for identifying the processed and canned food products and further suggest to check the labelling regulations to guarantee the protection of consumers' rights.