DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan
Background Domestic cats are important companion animals in modern society that live closely with their owners. Mislabeling of pet food can not only harm pets but also cause issues in areas such as religious beliefs and natural resource management. Currently, the cat food market is booming. However,...
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PeerJ Inc.
2024-02-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/16833.pdf |
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| author | Yu-Chun Wang Shih-Hui Liu Hsuan Ching Ho Hsiao-Yin Su Chia-Hao Chang |
| author_facet | Yu-Chun Wang Shih-Hui Liu Hsuan Ching Ho Hsiao-Yin Su Chia-Hao Chang |
| author_sort | Yu-Chun Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Domestic cats are important companion animals in modern society that live closely with their owners. Mislabeling of pet food can not only harm pets but also cause issues in areas such as religious beliefs and natural resource management. Currently, the cat food market is booming. However, despite the risk that mislabeling poses to cats and humans, few studies have focused on species misrepresentation in cat food products. Methods To address this issue, we used DNA barcoding, a highly effective identification methodology that can be applied to even highly processed products. We targeted a short segment (~85 basepairs) of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA (16S) gene as a barcode and employed Sanger or next generation sequencing (NGS) to inspect 138 canned cat food products in the Taiwanese market. Results We discovered that the majority of mislabeling incidents were related to replacement of tuna with other species. Moreover, our metabarcoding revealed that numerous undeclared ingredients were present in all examined canned products. One product contained CITES Appendix II-listed shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus). Overall, we uncovered a mislabeling rate of at least 28.99%. To verify cases of mislabeling, an official standardized list of vernacular names, along with the corresponding scientific species names, as well as a dependable barcoding reference sequence database are necessary. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:44:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6560f5fe1984923a42659070ed9bcb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:44:49Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
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| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6560f5fe1984923a42659070ed9bcb92024-02-23T15:05:15ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592024-02-0112e1683310.7717/peerj.16833DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in TaiwanYu-Chun Wang0Shih-Hui Liu1Hsuan Ching Ho2Hsiao-Yin Su3Chia-Hao Chang4Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, TaiwanDepartment and Graduate Institute of Aquaculture, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, TaiwanDepartment of Science Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Science Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, TaiwanBackground Domestic cats are important companion animals in modern society that live closely with their owners. Mislabeling of pet food can not only harm pets but also cause issues in areas such as religious beliefs and natural resource management. Currently, the cat food market is booming. However, despite the risk that mislabeling poses to cats and humans, few studies have focused on species misrepresentation in cat food products. Methods To address this issue, we used DNA barcoding, a highly effective identification methodology that can be applied to even highly processed products. We targeted a short segment (~85 basepairs) of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA (16S) gene as a barcode and employed Sanger or next generation sequencing (NGS) to inspect 138 canned cat food products in the Taiwanese market. Results We discovered that the majority of mislabeling incidents were related to replacement of tuna with other species. Moreover, our metabarcoding revealed that numerous undeclared ingredients were present in all examined canned products. One product contained CITES Appendix II-listed shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus). Overall, we uncovered a mislabeling rate of at least 28.99%. To verify cases of mislabeling, an official standardized list of vernacular names, along with the corresponding scientific species names, as well as a dependable barcoding reference sequence database are necessary.https://peerj.com/articles/16833.pdf16S rRNA geneUndeclared ingredientsThunnini fishesIUCN endangered sharkNext generation sequencing |
| spellingShingle | Yu-Chun Wang Shih-Hui Liu Hsuan Ching Ho Hsiao-Yin Su Chia-Hao Chang DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan PeerJ 16S rRNA gene Undeclared ingredients Thunnini fishes IUCN endangered shark Next generation sequencing |
| title | DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan |
| title_full | DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan |
| title_fullStr | DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan |
| title_full_unstemmed | DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan |
| title_short | DNA mini-barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in Taiwan |
| title_sort | dna mini barcoding reveals the mislabeling rate of canned cat food in taiwan |
| topic | 16S rRNA gene Undeclared ingredients Thunnini fishes IUCN endangered shark Next generation sequencing |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/16833.pdf |
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