Good in DNA
The authenticity of food can be objectively verified by employing organic compounds in the food itself to be used as “molecular markers.” DNA, proteins, peptides, secondary metabolites can now be determined with high sensitivity and accuracy by techniques that enable us to certify the authenticity of the food.
The quality of a given food, and especially the quality perceived by the consumer, is a key parameter that profoundly influences the choice of food products. “Quality,” however, is a difficult word to define in all contexts, and food is no exception. Even the ISO standard (“Degree to which a set of intrinsic characteristics meet requirements,” ISO 9000:2005) does not help to objectively define how much and how a food product can be considered quality. In fact, the concept of quality is very broad and includes objective and subjective data.
Among the certain objective data is the molecular composition of foods, and for chemists, who are by nature interested in molecules, the question arises: can the quality of a food be measured by associating it with the content of a particular chemical, whether naturally present or not? Among the quality parameters we can include safety and nutritional quality.
These characteristics are often easily and objectively measurable in relation to chemical compounds, since they are often associated with the content of a particular substance often regulated by law or otherwise identified with generally recognized optimum values.
For example, the presence (or rather absence) of pesticides in a food is an easily measurable and certifiable quality parameter. Similarly, the content of omega 3 and omega 6 unsaturated fatty acids can be easily measured and compared with optimal values. It is therefore in these cases an “objective” quality that can be easily measured and certified.
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Next to it there is a totally subjective quality that is difficult, if not impossible, to measure. This is the quality related to characteristics that we might call hedonistic, primarily the sensory properties of a food (being or not being “good” in the more traditional sense of the term), which are highly variable from person to person. In addition, a food has quality characteristics that are often related to psychological and social perception. Just think, for example, of how much being considered a “noble” food contributes to caviar's reputation as a quality food. Although some attempts have been made, particularly with regard to sensory properties, all these properties are difficult to objectify by measuring the content of specific compounds.
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There is, however, an additional aspect of quality, which is what we will consider in this article, which we might call the authenticity and genuineness of food products, understood as adherence to specific characteristics related to their production, such as place of production, ingredients, and processing methods.
Wines made from selected grapes, aged PDO cheeses and hams, cheeses produced from the milk of well-defined species (such as pecorino or buffalo mozzarella), olive oil made from particular varieties of olives, typical local products, passata produced from a well- defined variety of tomatoes, are just some of the examples of characteristics perceived by consumers as parameters of quality, often, rightly or wrongly, also perceived as superior from a sensory point of view (ie, “better”).
When these claims of “authenticity” are found on the label, implicitly the producer suggests to the consumer that these characteristics actually denote a superior product, a claim that often results in a higher price in the marketplace. If we compare these quality characteristics with the above, the question arises: is it possible to find objective methods to evaluate these quality characteristics?
In this particular case, looking at foods with a chemist's eye, is it possible to identify molecules that act as “markers” of the authenticity characteristic boasted on the label? Or, to put it more brutally, can compounds be identified that allow us to be able to tell whether the producer is claiming truth or falsehood (as in the rather obvious case of the opening photo, the “Original Spanish Parma Ham”)? The answer is that today in many cases modern analytical techniques make it possible (at least in theory) to objectively measure the characteristic of “authenticity” claimed on the label, and this “measurement of quality” can be achieved by identifying and quantifying organic molecules contained in the food product .
Science and Nutrition
The techniques available include, as far as the separation of the various compounds is concerned, all chromatographic techniques, because of their high separative power in complex mixtures, and for identification especially mass spectrometry and in some cases NMR, because of their high identification power. These techniques now make it possible to “see” complex mixtures as they are foods in fine molecular detail. One is therefore now able, in many cases, to use one or more molecules contained in foods as markers of authenticity.
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