Consumer confidence in halal integrity of the unique and various food products provides
Hat Yai, Thailand a great potential for a global destination of Muslim-friendly tourism.
Islam prohibits the consumption of pork and its derivatives in any food products. The
issue of food adulteration and contamination, particularly in the processed halal meat
products with pork and its derivatives, greatly concern Muslim consumers. The aim of this
study was to detect the presence of pork DNA from processed meat products collected
from self-proclaimed “halal” Muslim street food stalls at Hat Yai, Thailand. Thirty-six
samples of various processed meat products were randomly collected from seven Muslim
street food stalls including patties, meatballs, and sausages containing processed chicken,
beef, or a mixture of various meats. The detection of the presence of pork and its
derivatives was performed by a conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique
based on the pork-specific primers for a conserved region in the mitochondrial (mt) 12S
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. The results revealed that three out of the thirty-six samples
(8.3%) were positively identified to contain porcine DNA by the detection of the expected
single band of size 387 bp. The DNA method conveniently provides reliable results for
routine food analysis for halal requirement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of
halal integrity between the producers, suppliers, and street food business owners to
provide halal food products particularly to Muslim consumers.