Detection of Mechanically Separated Meat from Pork in Meat-Containing Foods by Targeted LC-MS/MS Analysis

Microscopy and calcium analysis have proven to be inadequate for the detection of mechanically separated meat (MSM) in meat-containing foods. Therefore, a pseudo-MRM-LC-MS/MS-based bottom-up assay was developed and validated for the detection of porcine MSM. In contrast to a comparable study on MSM from poultry, the studies on porcine MSM showed that the use of cartilage/intervertebral disc material was not useful. Here, we report a new marker protein from porcine MSM, protegrin-4, which allows the detection of 5/3/1 mm MSM. The validity of the developed assay was ensured by the investigation of 182 blinded samples. After unblinding, all samples containing 5/3/1 mm MSM and all negative control samples were correctly classified (precision 100%). Furthermore, new results related to the investigation of the species specification of chicken, turkey, and pork are presented. In conclusion, LC-MS/MS-based detection of potentially undeclared use of MSM has been successfully extended from poultry to porcine MSM. Moreover, the assay was successfully transferred to a tripleQuad LC-MS system.