Journal of Food Composition and Analysis (10960481)147
Meat adulteration is a critical issue affecting food safety, public health, and regulatory compliance. The lower cost and wide availability of poultry compared to mammalian meat increase the risk of fraudulent substitution in processed products. To address this, a rapid and reliable Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay was developed to detect several common avian meat species in raw and heat- and pressure-treated samples. Conserved regions of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh) gene were targeted to design a LAMP primer set specific to avian species. To assess the assay's performance, six common avian species (chicken, turkey, goose, duck, ostrich, quail) and four non-avian species (sheep, cattle, goat, camel) were tested. DNA was extracted using a salt-based method, and the assay's specificity and sensitivity were evaluated on raw, cooked, and autoclaved samples. The LAMP assay successfully detected chicken, turkey, goose, and duck DNA. The detection limit of 110 femtograms was established for chicken DNA. In chicken–beef mixtures, as little as 0.1 % chicken in raw and cooked samples and 1 % in autoclaved samples was identified. The method detected avian DNA in under an hour using minimal equipment. Its simplicity, speed, and robustness make it an effective tool for detecting avian meat, supporting food fraud prevention and accurate labeling. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.
