Combination of analytical methods identify additions to bison meat products: Bison and other game meats have become increasingly popular over the course of the past years, and have enjoyed increased prices. Bison, deer and beef meats have very similar appearances, in addition, bison and domestic cattle can cross-bread and therefore the meat cannot be distinguished by DNA barcoding alone. To ensure that bison meat was not mixed with other red meat species, a specific polymerase chain reaction method (PCR-SFLP) was used in this study. Out of 45 commercial bison meat samples, three samples showed other meat species, which were not identified on the label.

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Picture Credit Susanne Kuehne

Posted on 2 March 2021