Unveiling the mix-up: investigating species and unauthorized tissues in beef-based meat products

Customers are very concerned about high-quality products whose provenance is healthy. The identification of meat authenticity is a subject of growing concern for a variety of reasons, including religious, economic, legal, and public health. Between March and April of 2023, 150 distinct marketable beef product samples from various retailers in El-Fayoum, Egypt, were gathered. There were 30 samples of each of the following: luncheon, kofta, sausage, burger, and minced meat. Every sample underwent a histological investigation as well as subjected to a standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to identify meat types that had not been stated by Egyptian regulations. According to the obtained data, the meat products under scrutiny contained a variety of unauthorized tissues which do not match Egyptian regulations. Furthermore, the PCR results indicated that the chicken, camels, donkeys, and pigs derivatives were detected in 60%, 30%, 16%, and 8% of examined samples, respectively. In conclusion, besides displaying a variety of illegal tissues, the majority of the meat items under examination were tainted with flesh from many species. As a result, it is crucial to regularly inspect these products before they are put on the market to ensure that they comply with the law and don't mislead customers Furthermore, it is advisable for authorities to implement rigorous oversight of food manufacturing facilities to ensure the production of safe and wholesome meat.

Detection of Mechanically Separated Meat from Chicken in Sausages and Cold Meat by Targeted LC–MS/MS Analysis

The use of mechanically separated meat (MSM) from poultry in meat and sausage products is subject to declaration. Current methods such as microscopy or calcium analysis have proven to be insufficient to ensure the specific detection of MSM in meat and sausage products. When using MSM during production, intervertebral disc and cartilage specific proteins from chicken unavoidably end up in the sausages. Thus, a pseudo-MRM-LC–MS/MS-based assay was developed and validated, which uses intervertebral disc and cartilage specific peptides to detect MSM in meat and sausage products. All five marker peptides were assigned to collagen II alpha 1 which makes up a large part of the proteome of intervertebral discs and cartilage. In order to evaluate the validity of the methodology, a total of 23 positive controls (MSM content 5–90%) and a total of 19 negative controls were examined in a blinded study. After unblinding, 22 of 23 positive controls were correctly classified. Only one self-produced sample with 5% MSM was declared as a negative case (overall sensitivity 96%). In contrast, all negative controls were correctly classified as negative (specificity 100%). In summary, the LC–MS/MS assay allowed the specific detection of MSM in real samples with unknown composition down to 10% MSM in the meat content.

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