Meat species identification by polymerase chain reaction technique to authenticate alheiras de caça
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abstract
The manufacture of traditional meat products is a long-established practice in the
Northeast of Portugal, being Alheiras one of the most appreciated products. Alheiras
are traditional smoked fermented sausages, mainly produced with pork and poultry
meat in a mixture with bread and spices. Currently, game meat Alheiras (Alheiras de
caça) are also available as very attractive meat products and prone to adulterations. To
allow accurate information for consumers and avoid unfair competition among
producers, it is important to develop efficient methodologies to assess meat species
identification and verify the compliance with labelling.
The manufacture of traditional meat products is a long-established practice in the Northeast of
Portugal, being Alheiras one of the most appreciated products. Alheiras are traditional
smoked fermented sausages, mainly produced with pork and poultry meat in a mixture with
bread and spices. Currently, game meat Alheiras (Alheiras de caça) are also available in the
market being considered as very attractive meat products and prone to adulterations as they
command higher prices compared to the common type of Alheiras. To allow accurate
information for consumers and avoid unfair competition among producers, it is important to
develop efficient methodologies to assess meat species identification and verify the
compliance with labelling. For this purpose, several methods based either on proteins or DNA
analyses have been suggested during the last decade.
