Ready-to-use single tube quadruplex PCR for differential identification of mutton, chicken, pork and beef in processed meat samples

A reliable and sensitive identification method is required to tackle food adulteration mainly in meat production. We developed a dry reagent based ready-to-use single tube quadruplex PCR assay for accurate identification of chicken, mutton, beef and pork. The assay was found to be specific and reproducible. Thermo-stability studies of lyophilized PCR master mix were conducted at different temperature and time intervals, which revealed significant stability for 75 days at 4 degrees C and for 60 days at 25 degrees C. The developed assay was shown to be sensitive down to 16 pg DNA per reaction and the detection limit was found to be 0.01% (w/w) of each species. Furthermore, this method has been applied to the analysis of 68 commercial meat products and the results indicated that nine samples contained non-declared meat components. This dry reagent-based quadruplex PCR assay can be utilized to monitor various processed food products and also to maintain quality control in food industries mainly in the resource-limited settings.