Transglutaminase in meat and meat products, regulation and analysis in the EU
Microbial transglutaminase (TG) is an enzyme isolated on an industrial scale from Streptomyces mobaraensis. Technical TG, a formulated powder, is primarily used to restructure meat in the meat-processing industry, typically at a 1% concentration and is often referred to as “meat glue.”
In the European Union, meat restructured with Microbial Transglutaminase requires the indication “formed meat” on the label according to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.In order to detect food fraud like the undeclared TG usage in meat and meat products, a qualitative mass spectrometric method using specific tryptic marker peptides was published in 2017.
Our German laboratory. Mérieux -Institut Kirchhoff Berlin GmbH has taken part in the successful inter-laboratory validation and first-time standardization of a proteomics method for food control, which was subsequently included into the Official Collection of Analysis Methods according to the German Food and Feed Code (§ 64 LFGB).
Here you can download the latest publication about the detection of potential applied Transglutaminase. Inter-laboratory Validation of an HPLC–MS/MS Method for the Detection of Microbial Transglutaminase in Meat and Meat Products
