News From : DagangHalal.com (04 Apr 2010)
A team of researchers at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has discovered a method of differentiating chicken from pork in food products by using a sugar mixture called ribose.
Through the method, which uses the Maillard reaction approach, the two meats will change into a different colour as a result of their reaction to the sugar compound.
The Maillard reaction is named after French scientist Louis Camille Maillard, who discovered the reactions of amino acids and carbohydrates in 1912.
USM head of research Prof Azhar Mat Esa said the test was simple and could be done at home with the right equipment.
“All you need to do is to take a piece of meat and mix it with the sugar compound and then heat the meat to a certain temperature for the colour change,” he told reporters at the university recently.
Others in the research team were Dr Abbas F.M. Alkarkhi and Tan Thuan Chew.
Prof Azhar, who is also the dean of USM’s School of Graduate Studies and Research, said that by using a device called spectrophotometer, the colour achieved would indicate whether the meat was chicken or pork.
“Using the test, the public, particularly Muslim consumers, need not worry whether the meat they will be eating is really chicken as the test result will be known in less than two hours.”
Prof Azhar said the new discovery, which would be filed for patent application, would also be useful to differentiate gelatin derived from cows and that derived from pigs.
“It can be applied in the food industry like the halal frozen meat sector,” he said, adding that a spectrophotometer cost about RM25,000 and a bottle of ribose (4gm), RM15. — Bernama