Development of a monoclonal antibody specific to cooked mammalian meats

Detection of species adulteration in ground meat products is important for consumer protection and food-labeling law enforcement. This study was conducted to develop monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that can be used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid detection of any cooked mammalian meats in cooked poultry products. Soluble muscle proteins extracted from cooked pork (heated at 100 degrees C for 15 min) were used as the antigen to immunized mice for developing the MAb. One that was developed, MAb 2F8 (IgG2b class), strongly reacted with cooked meat of five mammalian species (beef cattle, hogs, sheep, horse, and deer) but did not react with any cooked poultry (chicken, turkey, and duck) or raw meats. At least 0.5% by weight of pork, beef, lamb, and horse meats in a chicken-based mixture could not detect using the indirect ELISA with MAb 2F8. The MAb 2F8 is useful in a single initial screening test to detect the presence of five nonpoultry meat adulterants in cooked poultry products.