Detection of porcine DNA in cooked meatballs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay

This study was conducted to detect the presence of porcine DNA in meatballs using polymerase chain (PCR) reaction assay targeted mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) species-specific gene. Meatballs spiked with 1.0% (w/w) and 5.0% (w/w) porcine meat and gelatin, respectively, were prepared and heat-treated using five (n=5) cooking methods: boiling, pan-frying, roasting, microwaving and autoclaving. Two pairs of mtDNA primers were targeted in short sequences using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, producing 212- and 83-bp amplicons. Electrophoresis analysis showed positive results for porcine DNA at 1.0% and 5.0% for both porcine meat and gelatin for all of the different cooking techniques. Thus, PCR analysis using species-specific primers was demonstrated to be very useful for the detection of porcine DNA in cooked meatballs. (C) All Rights Reserved