Identification of Meat Species : A Molecular Approach

Meat is used as nutritious food, as it provides a sufficient amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals to be used for human consumption. In the present time, it is notable that meat and meat-related products are high in demand, consequent to the rise in the human population and their disposable income. Nowadays, consumers are concerned about the adulteration of meat or meat products and request accurate marking; therefore, to identify the meat correctly, proper checks are needed so that accurate identification can be made in a short time and the customer can be assured of the right meat. In this book, two different PCR product amplification approaches have been used to differentiate between eight different animals (chicken, rat, pig, horse, goat, sheep, cow, and buffalo) using mitochondrial cyt b and 12S rRNA gene variability. Mitochondrial Analysis of DNA was the most frequently used DNA because of its highly conserved sequences in various organism species.