The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was applied to meat species identification in marinated and heat-treated or fermented products and to the differentiation of closely related species. DNA was isolated from meat samples by using a DNA-binding resin and was subjected to PCR analysis. Primers used were complementary to conserved areas of the vertebrate mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene and yielded a 359 base-pair (bp) fragment, including a variable 307 bp region. Restriction endonuclease analysis based on sequence data of those fragments was used for differentiation among species. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were detected when pig, cattle, wild boar, buffalo, sheep, goat, horse, chicken, and turkey amplicons were cut with AluI, RsaI, TaqI, and HinfI. Analysis of sausages indicates the applicability of this approach to food products containing meat from 3 different species. The PCR-RFLP analytical method detected pork in heated meat mixtures with beef at levels below 1%, and the method was confirmed with porcine- and bovine-specific PCR assays by amplifying fragments of their growth hormone genes. Inter- and intraspecific differences of more than 22 animal species with nearly unknown cytb DNA sequences, including hoofed mammals (ungulates), and poultry were determined with PCR-RFLP typing by using 20 different endonucleases. This typing method allowed the discrimination of game meats, including stag, roe deer, chamois, moose, reindeer, kangaroo, springbok, and other antelopes in marinated and heat-treated products.