Highly-Sensitive Detection of Multiple Porcine-Specific Peptides in Processed Foods by LC/MS/MS Method

In recent years, unauthorized blending of undeclared materials into food products has been a major concern among consumers. Such action violates customer rights based upon economical and safety values and it is also a critical problem for communities with ethical and religious beliefs. Both accidental and intentional adulteration of pork meat into food products are significant issue affecting Muslims and Jews as they have dietary restrictions on foods containing pork and its-by-product, such as gelatin. Particularly for Muslims, those restrictions are part of Islamic law concerning Halal (permissible) and Haram (non-permissible) foods. With an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, development of sensitive method for detection of porcine materials in food products is indispensable. Various approaches and targets have been utilized to trace porcine materials in processed foods including pork DNA by qPCR and PCR-MCE. However, DNA is prone to thermal degradation thus its viability remains dubious after food processing (cooking). In recent years, porcine-specific peptide markers were discovered and utilized in detection of pork in food. In this Application News, a highly sensitive LC/MS/MS method is described for ensuring halal food integrity by targeting more heat-stable porcine-specific peptide markers in processed food.