Flesh ID: Nanopore Sequencing Combined with Offline BLAST Search for the Identification of Meat Source

Disposable and instrument-free nucleic acid lateral flow cassette for rapid and on-site identification of adulterated goat milk

Species identification has become a significant concern due to the growing use of food alternatives that may cause allergies and reduce nutritional value. To address the issue of fraudulent adulteration of goat milk products with cow milk, we have developed an affordable, portable, and user-friendly platform called microfluidic-integrated nucleic acid lateral flow strips (LFS). This platform enables simultaneous detection of components derived from both goats and cows in goat milk. In this study, we have introduced an innovative nucleic acid labeling method. The loop primers of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) have been modified with amplification terminator spacer C3 and an oligonucleotide sequence, thus eliminating the requirement for costly antibodies in traditional nucleic acid LFS. This modification not only lowers costs but also enables multiple detections. Additionally, we have integrated the LAMP and LFS assay steps into a microfluidic chip, allowing convenient on-site detection while effectively preventing aerosol contamination of LAMP products. The testing process includes rapid DNA extraction, followed by a short nucleic acid addition and incubation for visualized results in about 50 min. This platform is user-friendly, requiring no specialized equipment or extensive training, making it suitable for rapid on-site detection of dairy products by personnel in diverse fields.

Is the metabarcoding ripe enough to be applied to the authentication of foodstuff of animal origin? A systematic review

Food authentication using molecular techniques is of great importance to fight food fraud. Metabarcoding, based on the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, allowing large-scale taxonomic identification of complex samples via massive parallel sequencing of fragments (called DNA barcodes) simultaneously, has become increasingly popular in many scientific fields. A systematic review to answer the question "Is the metabarcoding ripe enough to be applied to the authentication of foodstuff of animal origin?" is presented. The inclusion criteria were focused on the selection of scientific papers (SPs) only applying metabarcoding to foodstuff of animal origin collected on the market. The 23 included SPs were first analyzed with respect to the metabarcoding phases: library preparation (target genes, primer pairs, and fragment length), sequencing (NGS platforms), and final data analysis (bioinformatic pipelines). Given the importance of primer selection, the taxonomic coverage of the used primers was also evaluated. In addition, the SPs were scored based on the use of quality control measures (procedural blanks, positive controls, replicates, curated databases, and thresholds to filter the data). A lack of standardized protocols, especially with respect to the target barcode/s and the universal primer/s, and the infrequent application of the quality control measures, leads to answer that metabarcoding is not ripe enough for authenticating foodstuff of animal origin. However, the observed trend of the SP quality improvement over the years is encouraging. Concluding, a proper protocol standardization would allow a wider use of metabarcoding by both official and private laboratories, enabling this method to become the primary for the authentication of foodstuffs of animal origin.