Design and Validation of Short-Amplicon Length PCR Assay for the Detection of Porcine Gelatin in Commercial Candy and Marshmallow Products

Abstract

Porcine gelatin has been used in many food products. To ensure the compliance of food products with halal regulations and label description, reliable analytical methods are required. In this study, Porcine-specific short amplicon-size for conventional PCR assay was developed for the detection of gelatin in commercial candy and marshmallow products. A pair of porcine-specific primers defining a 74 bp region of the mitochondrial D-loop sequence were designed. One hundred and three samples including seventy six samples from candies and twenty seven samples from marshmallow were purchased from local market in Amman, Jordan. The results revealed that seventeen samples were found to contain porcine gelatin ingredients and the rest 86 were found to be negative. Nine of the positive samples were Gelatin labeled, and eight were not identified to contain gelatin. Of these samples. Five were also labeled as Halal. So, we demonstrated that the authentication of commercial sweet ingredients using PCR assay is effective and protect consumers from being mislead due to mislabels.