AB SCIEX halal and kosher meat authenticity testing method

AB SCIEX has developed a method of halal and kosher meat authenticity testing that it says will reassure consumers of no pig or horse contamination. The method detects pig and horse contamination of meat, including beef, chicken, lamb and other meat products.

The method uses liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to detect a number of biomarker peptides that are specific to pigs and/or horses.

According to the company, the method offers a more accurate and reliable approach to meat speciation than other methods. It can detect markers of multiple, different animal species in a single run, in contrast to traditional methods such as PCR or ELISA, which can lack specificity.

The method was developed using a two-pronged LC/MS/MS approach, using the TripleTOF 5600 system to identify the unique protein markers specific to a meat species, then using the QTRAP 5500 system to detect and confirm the presence of targeted meat peptides in unknown samples.

The QTRAP 5500 system uses multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) to detect each peptide and is then capable of providing sequence information by acquiring a product ion scan for each triggered MRM, which can be used to confirm the peptide’s identity.

Horse and beef protein markers may differ by as little as one or two amino acids, so it is important to have confidence in the results when distinguishing between species in food testing, the company says. The method is claimed to present the first MRM and MRM3 method for rapid and sensitive detection of both species (down to 0.13-0.25%), using routinely available MS techniques.