Enhancing meat safety and quality: Innovations in protein-based sensing technologies for contaminant detection

Abstract

Human society views meat as food from different perspectives, yet it remains a valuable source of nutrition. Because meat is perishable and fraudulent activities can compromise its quality, consumers are always curious about its quality. The significant development of analytical techniques, particularly protein-based sensing technology, has made it easy for food safety agencies to use them as point-of-care testing methods to detect various biological or chemical agents present in meat and its products. In the current review, we have elucidated the issues that impact the quality of meat and its products, which pose significant health risks to consumers. The review comprehensively discussed the use of protein-based sensing technologies, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, lateral flow immunoassay, antibody-based, and enzyme-based sensors. With the advent of nanotechnology, lateral flow immunoassay, antibody-based sensors, and enzyme-based sensors have become much more popular.