Molecular authentication of meat species in processed food products in Bangladesh

Adulteration of meat in processed food products is a growing concern worldwide, both affecting consumer trust and health issues. This study aimed to investigate the authenticity of meat containing processed food products in Bangladesh. Six processed meat samples (beef tehari, beef burger, mutton kacchi, duck rezala, chicken shawarma, and chicken ball) and Six Raw meat samples of cow, goat, duck, dog (fur), rabbit(fur) and chicken were collected from local retail sources, including supermarkets from the Savar region of Dhaka. Wizard Genomic DNA Purification Kit (Promega, USA) was used to extract genomic DNA from six different species. Similarly, for food items, DNA was extracted from each sample in triplicate. By performing Species-specific PCR, the efficiency of the corresponding primers was verified. The authenticity of the raw meat species was also confirmed through sequencing analysis. Due to the possibility of a species mixture or adulteration, food samples were cross-checked using multiple pairs of primers of suspected species with Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among the six processed food items tested in this study, mutton kacchi and beef burger were found to be adulterated. By performing densitometric analysis, 4.60% of Sample 2 and 2.20% of Sample 3 among the triplicate of mutton kacchi samples were found adulterated with cow meat. Again, in the case of beef burger samples, 91.3% of sample 1, 56.9% of sample 2, and 35.4% of sample 3 were found to be substituted with chicken meat. This study reveals the significant prevalence of meat substitution and cross-contamination during the processing of meat products in Bangladesh.