Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis

Adulteration in camel meat detected.

Camel, cow, food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Due to its health benefits, camel meat is gaining in popularity for consumers but unfortunately also for fraudsters for economic gain. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies allow quick and accurate detection of specific meat types, including processed and cooked meats. This newly developed PCR lateral flow immunology method found adulteration of camel meat with beef in 10% of the 20 samples that were investigated in this Chinese study.

Resource

  1. Zhao, L., et. al. (July 30, 2020). “Identification of camel species in food products by a polymerase chain reaction-lateral flow immunoassay”. Food Chemistry. Science Direct. Volume 319.

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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis

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