DNA Composition Reference Materials for Metrological Support of Species Identification in Meat Products

Meat and meat products are one of the key elements of nutrition worldwide. At the same time, food adulteration is a serious problem for both medical and religious reasons. To determine the species composition of meat products and measure the content of impurities, nucleic acid analysis methods are used, which require application of reference materials. The approval in 2024 of the State primary standard for the DNA sequence copies number GET 220–2024 made it possible to begin development of reference materials certified for the species-specific DNA sequences copy number ratio. Reference materials representing solutions of mixtures of genomic DNA isolated from pork, chicken, and cattle were prepared and certified. Based on the trials conducted, at the end of 2024, the types of RM for chicken DNA composition in a cattle DNA matrix (GSO 12743-2024 DNA-Gallus-VNIIM set) and RM for pig DNA composition in a cattle DNA matrix (GSO 12744-2024 DNA-Sus-VNIIM set) were approved at the end of 2024. These reference materials of species-specific DNA content replace existing foreign-made RM analogues and ensure the metrological traceability of measurements performed in the Russian Federation in the food industry to the state primary standard GET 220.

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