MULTIPLEX PCR ASSAY FOR ADULTERATION CHECK IN LOCAL CHEESE PRODUCTS
Food fraud, especially milk, has been the main problem in most areas of the world. Techniques have been developed to avoid such adulteration. One of these techniques is PCR which is considered fast, accurate, and reliable. In this study, 42 local white cheese samples were collected from different farmers and dairy markets in Duhok province, north of Iraq. A multiplex PCR assay was applied to examine these cheese samples. Three sets of primer were used to amplify specific 12s and 16s rRNA of the sheep, goat, and cow DNA through multiplex PCR reaction. In the results, 95.23% of the collected samples were adulterated. Only 4.67% of the samples were according to the labeling provided by the farmers and/or dairy markets. The most used milk for cheese production was goat followed by cow and sheep milk with 51.56%, 37.5%, and 10.93%, respectively. None of the 40 samples which were declared to be pure sheep cheese were free of adulteration. These data conclude that cheese fraud is high in this region and needs a possible solution in terms of maintaining such regulations and laws to protect consumers from adulteration.
Cheese; DNA; Adulteration; Multiplex-PCR; Iraq