Histological and stereological approaches for detection of tissues and fraud in some meat products

Meat and meat products are highly important sources of protein in the diet. Nowadays, the consumption of meat and meat products has increased owing to modern manufacturing techniques. Due to the economic value of meat, the use of unauthorized tissue is possible in meat products. In some cases, there is fraud in the percentage of meat in meat products to reduce prices. In this study, 34 samples of minced meat, hamburger and sausage were randomly collected from the markets in the northeast of Iran. Then, sections were stained using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H & E), Verhoeff-van-Gieson, Masson's trichrome and periodic acid-Schiff-Alcian blue stains. In this regard, for the first time, the efficacy of stereological technique to determine the percentage of meat listed in sausages and the possible existence of fraud was evaluated. The results showed that, due to the presence of some unusual tissues, histological technique could determine different tissues in meat products. The stereological results of control samples showed a very slight difference; whereas, the results for the samples collected from the city stores showed a distinctive difference regarding the percentage of meat compared to the percentage of label. Skeletal and smooth muscles, blood vessels, nerve, gizzard, adipose tissue, glandular tissue, cartilage, bone, tendon, skin, lymphatic tissues and plant materials were observed. It was confirmed that stereology was a reliable method to determine and confirm the percentage of meat used in meat products.