DETECTION OF COW MILK IN BUFFALO “MOZZARELLA” BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) ASSAY

Abstract

ABSTRACT The authors used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay on buffalo mozzarella, a typical Italian dairy product, from the Apulia markets to evaluate the presence of cow milk and verification of the mozzarella label. The results obtained from 30 mozzarella samples demonstrated the presence of the cow genome in 22/30 samples, highlighting contamination as probable fraudulent adding of cow's milk or use of the same equipments in both working cycles.