Identification of Dog Meat Species by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Abstract

Recently, consumption of animal protein, especially meat consumption in Indonesian society continues to have a tren a signi cant increase from year to year. As a country with Muslim majority, the provision of food of animal origin that are safe, healthy, whole and halal is a challenge that must be met in order to meet the demand for animal protein. The existence of a food safety issue, namely the phenomenon of adulteration of meat consumption is a priority to be anticipated. Meat adulterations have been reported mainly in processed meat products such as beef meatballs mixed with pork or chicken meat. Nevertheless, meat adulteration by adding dog meat into the beef products, is feared will happen too. This is because dog meat is also widely consumed by the public. The purpose of this study was to detect the DNA of dog meat and dog meat content in the beef meatballs with simplex polymerase chain reaction technique (PCR). The study was conducted using sample of fresh and cooked dog meat to determine DNA of dog species and determined dog meat content in beef meat balls using variation level of mixture at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100%, respectively. Furthermore, determination of species of dog meat is done by PCR. The results indicated that dog meat species were accurately determined in PCR. It is concluded that PCR can be useful for fast, easy, and reliable control of adulterated consumer meat products. These ndings may contribute to a better awareness about food safety and concern of halal food.