Development of a new and sensitive method for the detection of pork adulteration in gelatin and other highly processed food products

Porcine adulteration has become a major concern amongst communities including Muslims and Jews. Reliable detection of the presence of porcine DNA in gelatin and highly processed food samples is essential for Halal and kosher food control. In this study, a forensic approach involving DNA isolation and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect the presence of porcine DNA in commercial gelatin and processed foods containing porcine by-products. The method was compared with commercially sensitive porcine DNA detection kits (Biotecon and R-Biopharm) which are commonly used in food control laboratories for Halal and kosher authentication. The results indicated that a newly developed method called TübiGel was at least 10 times more sensitive for porcine DNA detection. The TübiGel method was found to have a detection limit of 0.01% porcine gelatin, whilst the Biotecon method had 0.1% and R-Biopharm method detected >5% porcine gelatin. The forensic DNA isolation approach of the TübiGel method was found to be a critical step. In addition, real-time PCR of TübiGel method was also found to detect porcine DNA better than real-time PCR of commercial kits.