Analysis of fish and meat

Fish and meat products are popular foods worldwide and across cultures. Due to their valuable and partly essential ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, minerals or easily digestible proteins, they make an important contribution to a balanced and healthy diet. Due to the perishable nature of fish and meat, these foods are subject to strict quality and safety standards, which include hygienic and microbiological aspects as the most important analysis parameters. MACHEREY‑NAGEL supports you in your daily laboratory analysis and offers a wide range of products in the areas of nutrient analysis, molecular biological detection of pathogens or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), authenticity and origin analysis (food fraud) or in the analysis of contaminants and residues (pharmaceuticals, dioxins, …).

Genomic DNA isolation from fish and meat

PCR and real-time PCR-based detection assays are routinely used in the production and processing of meat and fish products. These molecular biological methods are used to determine the varietal purity of meat and fish products, for the determination of halal conformity, for authenticity and origin analysis as well as for hygiene monitoring (detection of microbes, germs and pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp. or Campylobacter spp.). Since fish and meat are perishable goods, fast and reliable nucleic acid extraction is a crucial step to ensure processing, transport, sale and consumption within its shelf life. MACHEREY-NAGEL's NucleoSpin Food and NucleoMag Food kits are the ideal solution for your molecular biological analysis and are suitable for both manual and fully automated high-throughput extraction of highly pure DNA from a wide range of sample matrices.

Avoid high nitrite levels in fish farming

In fish farming, the complex system of living organisms, plants and bacteria produces many degradation products. One of these degradation products caused by organic material is nitrite. This parameter is toxic to fish even in small amounts, so that the concentration of nitrite should be examined continuously. Symptoms of nitrite poisoning in fish are similar to those of oxygen deficiency, which is why the fish often stay at the water surface.

In order to avoid these consequences, a targeted check of the water values in fish farming and aquaristics can be carried out with the QUANTOFIX nitrite test strips. They thus help to keep the water clear and healthy, as high nitrite values in fish farming indicate a disturbance of the filtration.

Protect your fish from toxic ammonium

Ammonium is part of the so-called nitrogen cycle in water. This important ecological process leads to the decomposition of harmful nitrogen compounds. Bacteria in the aquarium produce ammonia (NH₃), which is strongly pH-dependent. If the pH in the water is low (pH < 7), only ammonium (NH₄⁺ ) is present. If the pH is above 7, ammonia is almost exclusively present. Ammonium is used in the nitrogen cycle as a plant nutrient, allowing algae and aquatic plants to grow better. 

Ammonia is highly toxic to fish, so caution should be exercised when the pH in the aquarium is high (pH < 7). In these cases, the water should be filtered immediately and appropriate care measures taken. To avoid too high ammonium or ammonia concentration in the tank water in the first place, timely testing and control is necessary. The Ammonia test strips allow ammonium or ammonia in water to be determined quickly and easily. The safe value of < 0.5 mg/L NH₄⁺ can be read directly.

Quickly and easy way to measure water hardness

There are different units of measurement to define the hardness of water. In many countries water hardness in aquaristics is characterized by the concentration of calcium carbonate (ppm CaCO₃). Water with high values (> 250 ppm CaCO₃) is called hard water, while low values (< 120 ppm CaCO₃) are called soft water. Hard water is formed when many lime and hardness formers are present. 

For fish that are surrounded by soft water in their natural environment, hard water can impair cell function and lead to health consequences. The AQUADUR test strips allow quick and easy determination of water hardness. The simple dip/read principle and the clear color change from green to red allow reliable results within seconds.

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pH value as an important parameter in water

The pH value is the indication of the hydrogen ion concentrations in water. This in turn is a measure of the acidic or basic character of a medium. If there are as many hydrogen ions (H⁺) as hydroxide ions (OH⁻), the pH value is said to be neutral. If the pH value is < 7, an acidic medium is present. A basic solution is present from a pH value > 7. 

The pH value is important for many different processes and cycles. For example, the formation of ammonia is significantly influenced by the pH value. If a high pH is present, a disproportionate amount of ammonia is produced, which is highly toxic to many fish species. For many species the recommended range is therefore pH 6.5-8.5. 

pH-Fix test strips with chemically bound indicators are the standard for pH determination in water. The fixation prevents bleeding of the indicator dyes and thus contamination of the sample.

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Triphenylmethane dyes in aquaculture

Motivated by the various potential health benefits the human feeding behavior changes more and more and leads to an increasing demand for aquatic products. Farming aquatic species is getting an important way for producing big amounts of aquatic products all over the world because of overexploiting the world’s fish stock. A big challenge of farming aquatic species is the control of infectious diseases. Triphenylmethane dyes (TPM) are organic compounds originally used as textile and paper dyes and have been found effective as antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic agents in fisheries. They accumulate in fish and metabolize to the equivalent, colorless leuco-forms, which are also known as mutagenic. For protecting human health triphenylmethane dyes have been banned in many countries according to the recommendations of national and/or international related agencies. The EU has implemented a minimum required performance limit (MRPL) for the sum of Malachite Green and Leucomalachite Green of 2 μg/kg.

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Analysis of FAMEs from pork and salmon

Chemically, fats are triglycerides (also called triacylglycerols). Natural fats consist mainly of triacylglycerols with three long-chain fatty acids.

Animal fats and oils are rich in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids. They differ not only in terms of fatty acid composition, but mainly in the ratio of fatty acids to vitamins and minerals. Fats are carriers of flavor and aroma substances, which is why they are often used in cooking.

Fatty acids also include the so-called omega-3 fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These two fatty acids are only found in fish and in no other food

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