Complementary Molecular and Spectroscopic Approaches for Meat Authentication: Real-Time PCR Detection of Porcine DNA and FT-NIR Analysis of Slaughter-Related Biochemical Changes

Food adulteration and species mislabeling represent important challenges for food safety, regulatory control, and consumer protection, particularly for products requiring species-specific authentication. This study investigated two complementary analytical approaches relevant to meat authentication: species-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) for the molecular detection of porcine mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Fourier-transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometric analysis for exploratory assessment of slaughter-related compositional changes in a controlled murine proof-of-concept model. A total of 85 commercially available Halal-labeled meat products, including sausages, cutlets, minced meat, dumplings, raw meat, and seasoning products, were analyzed for the presence of porcine mitochondrial DNA. Under the applied qualitative assay conditions, porcine mitochondrial DNA was detected in 64 of 85 analyzed samples (75.3%). This finding is specific to the investigated sample set and does not distinguish intentional formulation or substitution from unintended cross-contact or other potential sources of porcine-derived DNA. In parallel, FT-NIR spectroscopy over the 10,000–4000 cm−1 spectral range was evaluated as a rapid, non-destructive approach for assessing compositional changes associated with blood removal in a controlled murine model. Principal component analysis of standard normal variate (SNV)-preprocessed spectra demonstrated separation between blood-retained and blood-drained tissues; the first principal component (PC1) and the second principal component (PC2) accounted for 93% and 4% of the total spectral variance, respectively. The spectral regions contributing most strongly to the observed separation were associated predominantly with O–H- and N–H- related vibrational features, consistent with variation in major tissue constituents such as water and proteins. These findings illustrate the complementary information provided by species-specific molecular detection and exploratory spectroscopic profiling. Further validation in commercially relevant livestock species and independent sample sets is required before a combined analytical workflow can be established.