A research note: Detection of adulteration in processed traditional meat products

Nondeclared protein addition is one of the most frequent adulterations used in meat products. Meat substitution with an unspecified specie, usually of less quality, is a fraudulent act in the industry and could have economic and health repercussions. In this study, we used an immunodiffusion assay i n agar gel to identify, bovine, porcine, equine and avian species in two sl ightly processed meat products, uncooked commercial hamburger and Mexican s ausage (chorizo). Analysis of 40 samples from local food stores was perform ed. Undeclared equine specie was detected in 9 of the 23 of the hamburger m eat samples. In Mexican sausage undeclared equine and porcine specie were a lso found in 5 of the 17 samples. These results showed violations in practi ces of the regional meat industry. It is suggested that regulatory agencies institute programs to ensure that meat products are properly labeled to pr otect consumers.