Molecular Identification of Gelatin Origin in Pastilles and Jelly Products Collected from Tehran Markets

Gelatin is a beneficial component in the structure of various foods such as desserts and pastilles. These products are most popular with children because of their visual appeal and bright colors. In this study, 30 samples of jelly products were collected from the Tehran markets and were tested for the molecular identification of the gelatin source. The gelatin used in the industry is mainly produced from bovine and porcine species. Identification and detection of the species used in the gelatin structure are required from the perspective of consumer confidence in food health safety as well as religious beliefs. A species-specific singleplex PCR reaction targeting 277 bp porcine D- loop regions was used to detect porcine species. It was found that none of the products contained porcine gelatin. Complementary experiments used with 130 bp bovine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to detect bovine species showed that the collected samples, according to the label, contained bovine species DNA. Therefore, this qualitative PCR assay is a useful and effective method for monitoring gelatin species origin in food products and has the ability to identifying the DNA of the porcine in gelatin as a highly processed food product and Halal authentication.