Molecular Approaches to Agri-Food Traceability and Authentication: An Updated Review

Abstract

In the last decades, the demand for molecular tools for authenticating and tracing agri-food products has significantly increased. Food safety and quality have gained an increased interest for consumers, producers, and retailers, therefore, the availability of analytical methods for the determination of food authenticity and the detection of major adulterations takes on a fundamental role. Among the different molecular approaches, some techniques such as the molecular markers-based methods are well established, while some innovative approaches such as isothermal amplification-based methods and DNA metabarcoding have only recently found application in the agri-food sector. In this review, we provide an overview of the most widely used molecular techniques for fresh and processed agri-food authentication and traceability, showing their recent advances and applications and discussing their main advantages and limitations. The application of these techniques to agri-food traceability and authentication can contribute a great deal to the reassurance of consumers in terms of transparency and food safety and may allow producers and retailers to adequately promote their products.

How to Choose a Good Marker to Analyze the Olive Germplasm (Olea europaea L.) and Derived Products

“…Therefore, fast, precise, accurate and up-to-date analytical methods are required to detect adulteration of EVOO. Olive oil authentication, traditionally assessed by chemical approaches, analyzing the content of metabolites such as fatty acids, volatile compounds and tocopherols, in recent years has seen prevailing DNA-based methods [201]. Different molecular markers have been used to trace olive oil products.…”

“…Nevertheless, the most used molecular marker in olive oil traceability is SSR [202]. SSRs were efficiently used to authenticate and trace olive varieties in monovarietal and polyvarietal oils [201]. Besides, SNP was also revealed to be highly reliable in EVO oil traceability [48].…”

“…Like many food matrices, DNA in olive oil can be highly degraded and present in very low quantities [201]. For this reason, the identification of the varieties present in commercial olive oils requires adequate DNA extraction protocols.…”

“…Their high level of polymorphism and reproducibility make them the markers of choice for most genetic diversity studies. Moreover, SSR and SNP markers can be detected on a very small portion of DNA, which, in the case of highly fragmented DNA such as those extracted by olive oil, may constitute an important advantage [201]. SSR markers are the most used markers in olive genetic diversity assessment.…”

Understanding Agri-Food Traceability System User Intention in Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic: The Comparisons of Three Models

“…A consistent validation and traceability structure can represent an important method for the safety of customers, decreasing the risk of individuals utilizing impure or tainted foods, and improving supplier management and procedure protection. Customers demonstrated inadequate understanding regarding the significance of validation and traceability of food [5,6], making the distribution of the ability and dependability of tracking techniques to improve individuals' understanding of the position of food supervision in health security and the honesty of traceability knowledge important [7]. Food supply chains are vital to well-being.…”