Page 12 - Australian Pork Newspaper

New scanning technique allows rapid identification of meat fraud
MASS spectrometry, a molecular identification method commonly used in healthcare, drug test- ing and food safety, has now proven its capacity for identifying foreign material in meat prod- ucts.
Meat fraud has frequent- ly been the subject of news headlines in recent years: incorrect labelling of products and failing to declare other biological material in meat products has led to public exposés and growing distrust from consumers.
Many fraudulent prac- tices are difficult to detect, and current quality meas- urement methods cannot cope with sophisticated, modern-day tampering.
Not only does adultera- tion of meat damage the
reputation of the meat in- dustry and put to waste the hard work of produc- ers, but it also results in ‘significant economic problems’.
This month (November 2018), researchers from the University of Chem- istry and Technology, Czech Republic, and the Institute for Global Food Security, Northern Ire- land, have published their latest research detailing how ambient mass spec- trometry can now ‘quick- ly and reliably screen for adulterated meat’.
Meat adulteration is a sig- nificant economic problem as it can result in substan- tial economic gains and loss of consumers’ trust in the food industry.
Addition of a bulking agent masking the addi-
tion of water into minced meat is a fraudulent prac- tice that is very difficult to detect.
The quality of the meat can be assessed by meas- urement of total net pro- tein, however the meth- ods used to measure such property are not able to cope with the quite so- phisticated modern-day adulteration practices.
In the study, the poten- tial of recently introduced Rapid Evaporative Mass Spectrometry technology was assessed to discover undeclared additives in chopped pork and chicken meat-based products such as sausages and burgers.
The REIMS technique was able to discover such adulterants with a high
degree of confidence when more than 2.5 per- cent of these substances were added.
The results could be ob- tained within a few min- utes.
In this context REIMS can be classified as a rap- id screening method that could be employed as a front-line testing method to ensure the quality and authenticity of meat prod- ucts.
It is hoped access to this technology will al- low more accurate detec- tion of meat fraud and, subsequently, allow more criminal conviction of fraudsters.
It is hoped this will deter such practices in future.
Your partners in intensive animal production
Customer Service & Orders
1300 791 009 ccdsales@ccdanimalhealth.com.au
Animal Health Products Tailored Sanitation Programs
Pest Control S
Supplements
Farm Biosecurity Products F
F
ast service delivery F
Proudly supporting the Australian pig industry for over 40 years.
Photo: abelandcole.co.uk
Flies ‘possible route’ of African swine fever spread
FLIES that have been in contact with swine infected with African swine fever could be responsible for spread- ing the disease between herds.
Researchers at Den- mark’s National Veteri- nary Institute found pigs can become infected with the virus if they ingest flies carrying the virus.
The results pose extra bio- security challenges for pro- ducers, who should employ good disinfection practices to limit fly numbers, in ad- dition to ensuring wild ani- mals are kept out of farms, the researchers said.
ASF has been spreading across Eastern Europe in recent months, with wild boar populations and con- taminated meat identified as the main factors behind infections.
Serious outbreaks are ongoing in China.
Biting flies
Scientists wanted to identify the risk biting flies pose to spreading the virus, as larger insects such as horseflies could feed on dead wild boar before finding their way onto farms.
In the study, research- ers divided 12 piglets into three groups, housing each group in a separate room.
Group 1 was inoculated orally with blood taken
from pigs infected with ASF.
Group 2 was inoculated orally with homogenised flies that had fed on ASF- spiked blood.
Group 3 was fed intact infected flies – 20 per pig – which were added to 100g of soft cake.
Following daily moni- toring, the scientists found that 25 percent of piglets in Group 1 and 50 percent of piglets in Group 2 and Group 3 were infected by orally ingesting the virus.
The remaining pigs were believed to have been in- fected via contact with in- fected pigs in their group. Readily preventable
The results show that not only can biting flies carry ASF by feeding on in- fected pigs, they can also infect healthy animals if they are eaten.
“It is unlikely that inges- tion of blood-fed flies is a common route for trans- mission of ASFV between wild boars or between pigs within a stable,” the re- searchers said.
However, when bearing in mind the biology of the flies, the results indicate that flies could be one possible route of transmis- sion over short distances.
“Such transmission seems readily preventable through using ventilation filters,” the researchers said.
Page 12 – Australian Pork Newspaper, December 2018
www.porknews.com.au
Photo: sciencebuzz.org