Abstract
BackgroundThe application of DNA markers for the identification of biological samples from both human and non-human species is widespread and includes use in food authentication. In the food industry the financial incentive to substituting the true name of a food product with a higher value alternative is driving food fraud. This applies to British pork products where products derived from traditional pig breeds are of premium value. The objective of this study was to develop a genetic assay for regulatory authentication of traditional pig breed-labelled products in the porcine food industry in the United Kingdom.ResultsThe dataset comprised of a comprehensive coverage of breed types present in Britain: 460 individuals from 7 traditional breeds, 5 commercial purebreds, 1 imported European breed and 1 imported Asian breed were genotyped using the PorcineSNP60 beadchip. Following breed-informative SNP selection, assignment power was calculated for increasing SNP panel size. A 96-plex assay created using the most informative SNPs revealed remarkably high genetic differentiation between the British pig breeds, with an average FST of 0.54 and Bayesian clustering analysis also indicated that they were distinct homogenous populations. The posterior probability of assignment of any individual of a presumed origin actually originating from that breed given an alternative breed origin was > 99.5% in 174 out of 182 contrasts, at a test value of log(LR) > 0. Validation of the 96-plex assay using independent test samples of known origin was successful; a subsequent survey of market samples revealed a high level of breed label conformity.ConclusionThe newly created 96-plex assay using selected markers from the PorcineSNP60 beadchip enables powerful assignment of samples to traditional breed origin and can effectively identify mislabelling, providing a highly effective tool for DNA analysis in food forensics.
Highlights
The application of DNA markers for the identification of biological samples from both human and non-human species is widespread and includes use in food authentication
The application of DNA analysis to the identification of biological samples has become routine in the fields of human [1] and non-human forensics [2], parentage analysis [3] and throughout the food industry
With the aim of developing a genetic tool for the verification of meat from British traditional pig breeds for food authentication purposes, the objectives of this study were to: (1) select Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers that contain sufficient genetic information to be able to discriminate amongst the pig populations, (2) create a custom-made assay with an appropriate number of informative SNP markers, (3) demonstrate the effectiveness of the assay as a diagnostic tool, and (4) validate the application for product regulation
Summary
The application of DNA markers for the identification of biological samples from both human and non-human species is widespread and includes use in food authentication. Mislabelling or substitution of food products can occur by accident or by intention, Within the UK, there has been a marked rise over the past decade in meat sold by breed, with traditional British livestock breed products attracting a premium price. This trend is exemplified by British pork products and there are several contributing factors to explain this consumer trend and the premium value of the product. In addition to defrauding the consumer, breed mislabelling threatens the livelihoods of traditional breed farmers by undermining their brand and undercutting their prices through the illegal substitution with mass-produced meat
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