Quantitative detection of meat adulteration using MRM mass spectrometry

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The horsemeat scandal of 2013 sparked a pan-European food authenticity crisis, embroiling both retailers and suppliers and resulting in the removal of millions of pounds worth of meat products from UK supermarket shelves. The crisis exposed widespread deficiencies in food testing regimes. The objective of the present proposal is to extend the ability to verify and quantitate meat species via analytical methods, specifically, by developing MRM-MS (multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry) in a cost-effective, high-throughput approach. Most meat species contain high levels of the protein myoglobin. The sequences for myoglobins from many different species are well-known, and typically differ by several amino acids. For example P68082 (horse) differs from P02192 (bovine) by 18 amino acids randomly throughout the molecule. Protein extracted from meat mixtures can be enzymatically digested to yield peptides; some corresponding peptides from different species’ myoglobins will differ in mass. The project aims to quantify these by passing the peptide mixes through a short-column HPLC and then into a triple-quad mass spectrometer operating in MRM mode: this means that very specific peptides and their associated fragment ions are detected, giving confident identification and accurate relative quantitation. A range of technical developments will be made to optimize the throughput with which this analysis can be made, and thus its potential uptake as a screening technology.

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