Species identification of meat products using the cytochrome b gene

The partial sequence (402 bp) of cytochrome b gene has been proved to be of value in the identification of animal species from unknown samples. In this study, the analysis of 402 bp sequences was used to confirm the materials of 87 processed meat products. There were 11 samples that did not conform to the original indicated materials. The inconsistent ratio was about 12.6 %. There were 9 and 10 haplotypes of 32 beef samples and 55 pork samples respectively. The genetic distances between intraspecies ranged 0.00 to 1.77 (pig), and 0.00 to 2.29 (cow). The genetic distances between interspecies (pig and cow) ranged 19.11 to 21.90. In this study, we have illustrated the value of a simple DNA test to identify the animal species used in processed meats and investigate the situation about the fraudulent misdescription of food contents on product labels in Taiwan markets. This system could also be used in the speciation of other biological products.