A sensitive HPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous detection of microbial transglutaminase, and bovine and porcine fibrinogen/thrombin in restructured meat.

A sensitive HPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous detection of microbial transglutaminase (TG) from Streptomyces mobaraensis, and bovine and porcine fibrinogen/thrombin in restructured meat was developed using tryptic marker peptides of TG (five markers), and bovine and porcine fibrinogen (six markers each). Meat binding experiments with beef and pork were performed using a technical TG mixture (Activa, Ajinomoto), and bovine and porcine plasmapowder FG (PPFG; Sonac B.V.). The method developed allows the simultaneous detection of the use of these cold-set binders in raw and heated samples. The peak areas of the fibrinogen marker peptides were increased by a factor of about 100, compared to blank values originating from the occurrence of residual blood in meat, using a concentration of 0.6% bovine and porcine PPFG. A differentiation between the use of blood plasma powder and PPFG using the ratios of fibrinogen to serotransferrin peptide peak areas seems to be possible.