Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) Analysis for the Detection and Quantification of Cow DNA in Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese

• Main Authors: Anna Cutarelli, Andrea Fulgione, Pasquale Fraulo, Francesco Paolo Serpe, Pasquale Gallo, Loredana Biondi, Federica Corrado, Angelo Citro, Federico Capuano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Animals
• Subjects: PDO buffalo mozzarella cheese; real-time PCR; ddPCR; isoelectric focusing
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1270

Buffalo mozzarella cheese is one of the most appreciated traditional Italian products and it is certified as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product under the European Commission Regulation No. 1151/2012. It is obtained exclusively from buffalo milk. If made from cow milk, or a mixture of buffalo and cow milk, buffalo mozzarella cheese does not qualify as a PDO product. In order to maximize their profits, some producers market buffalo mozzarella that also contains cow milk as a PDO product, thus defrauding consumers. New methods for revealing this fraud are therefore needed. One such method is the droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR). Thanks to its high precision and sensitivity, the ddPCR could prove an efficacious means for detecting the presence of cow milk in buffalo mozzarella cheese that is marketed as a PDO product. ddPCR has proved able to detect the DNA of cow and/or buffalo milk in 33 buffalo mozzarella cheeses labelled as PDO products, and experimental evidence could support its application in routine analyses.