USE OF qPCR AND HIGH RESOLUTION MELTING FOR IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF TYPES OF MEAT FROM AQUATIC ANIMALS AND DERIVATIVESKeywords: multiplex, adulteration, meat, authentication, molecular.
The intentional or incidental frauds in meat and meat products by the substitution of species of animals of butcher, happens of recurring form, constituting like a pressing concern of governmental entities focused on the guarantee of the quality of food and consumer rights.This practice can cause economic losses as well as high negative impacts for the food industry and for consumers, whether for moral, ethical, religious or public health questions.The development of new technologies allowed the industry to create increasingly elaborate and diversified products with complex characteristics, which restricted the efficiency of conventional techniques to identify deviations related to the identity or quality of meats and meat products. Several methods has been developed with the intention of detecting fraud by replacing meat types from one animal species with another of lower value, in an attempt to assist in the authentication of commercialized products and thus guarantee the quality of the same.The present work aims to use qPCR and High Resolution Melting (HRM) for identification and quantification of different types of meats from slaughter animals and derivative products, as an auxiliary tool for the authentication of food products and the identification of adulterations in meat products.