Detection of roe deer, red deer, and hare meat in raw materials and processed products available in Poland

To allow detection of meat from the most popular game species in Poland, we developed a PCR-based method for identification of roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), and hare ( Lepus europaeus ). The designed primers were based on the noncoding, mitochondrial D-loop region. Amplicon sizes ranged from 116 to 255 bp. The primers exhibited no cross-reactivity with the DNA from common slaughter and other game species. The detection limit of the assay was established to be below 0.001 % in raw red deer ( C. elaphus ) and hare ( L. europaeus ) meat, and below 0.01 % in raw roe deer ( C. capreolus ) meat, whereas <0.5 % of hare and red deer meat in processed samples could be detected. The PCR-based assay was used for authentication of 17 samples of raw game meat and 32 samples of game meat-containing products available in Polish markets. Analysis of all tested raw meat and processed products revealed the presence of DNA of investigated species in concordance with producers’ declarations.