Simultaneous species identification in milk and dairy products using direct pcr

Abstract

Fraudulent milks and dairy products cause health and economic problems. As such, these acts are considered illegal worldwide. Forensic science can play an important role in helping to identify species in milk and dairy products to help enforce national legislations regarding these issues. In this study, we successfully developed and validated a triplex direct-PCR assay with capillary electrophoresis detection to identify the three common milk species: cow (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus). The assay amplified mitochondrial COI and cyt b genes and generated PCR products of 93, 173 and 231bp for cow, sheep and goat, respectively. The assay was highly reproducible, specific to target species, sensitive, and showed 100% identification accuracy. Additionally, it was applicable to milk and its dairy product samples. The study suggested that the developed technique can be used for real case sample analysis for food safety and law enforcement for consumer protection.