Good in the DNA
The authenticity of foods can be objectively verified using organic compounds present in the foods themselves to be used as "molecular markers". DNA, proteins, peptides, secondary metabolites can today be determined with high sensitivity and accuracy using techniques that allow us to certify the authenticity of the food.
The quality of a given food, and above all the quality[1] perceived by the consumer, is a fundamental parameter that profoundly influences the choice of food products. However, "quality" is a word that is difficult to define in all contexts and the food sector is no exception. Even the ISO standard (“Degree with which a set of intrinsic characteristics satisfy [1] the requirements”, ISO 9000:2005) does not help to objectively define how much and how a food product can be considered of quality. The concept of quality is in fact very broad and includes objective and subjective data.
Among the objective data there is certainly the molecular composition of foods and for chemists, by their nature interested in molecules, the question arises spontaneously: can the quality of a food be measured by associating it with the content of a particular chemical substance, 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 in any case identified with generally recognized optimal values.
For example, the presence (or rather the absence) of pesticides in 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 the optimal values. It is therefore in these cases an "objective" quality that can be easily measured and certified.
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Alongside it there is a totally subjective quality, difficult, if not impossible, to measure. It is the quality connected to the characteristics that we could define as hedonistic, first of all the sensory properties of a food (being or not being “good” in the most traditional sense of the term), which vary greatly from person to person. Furthermore, a food has quality characteristics often linked to psychological and social perception. Just think, for example, of how much being considered a "noble" food contributes to the reputation of caviar as a quality food. Even if some attempts have been made, in particular as regards the sensory properties, all these properties are difficult to objectify by measuring the content of specific compounds.
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However, there is a further aspect of quality, which is what we will consider in this article, which we could define as the authenticity and wholesomeness of food products, understood as adherence to specific characteristics related to their production, such as place of production , ingredients, process methodologies.
Wines obtained from selected grapes, aged DOP cheeses and hams, cheeses produced from milk of well-defined species (such as pecorino or buffalo mozzarella), olive oil obtained from particular varieties of olives, typical local products, purées produced from from a well-defined variety of tomato, are just some of the examples of characteristics perceived by the consumer as quality parameters, often, rightly or not, also perceived as superior from a sensorial point of view (ie "better").
When these claims of "authenticity" are found on the label, the producer implicitly suggests to the consumer that these characteristics effectively denote a superior product, a statement which often translates into a higher price on the market. If we compare these quality characteristics with the previous ones, the question arises: is it possible to find objective methods for evaluating these quality characteristics?
In the specific case, looking at foods with the eye of a chemist, is it possible to identify molecules that act as "markers" of the characteristic of authenticity claimed 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 declaring true or false (as in the rather obvious case of the opening photo, the "original Spanish Parma Ham")? The answer is that today in many cases modern analysis techniques make it possible (at least in theory) to objectively measure the characteristic of "authenticity" declared on the label, and this "quality measurement" can be obtained by identifying and quantifying organic molecules contained in the product feed .
Science and Food
The available techniques include, as far as the separation of the various compounds is concerned, all the chromatographic techniques, due to their high separating power in complex mixtures, and especially mass spectrometry and in some cases NMR for the identification, for the their high identifying power. These techniques allow today to "see" complex mixtures such as foods in fine molecular detail. Today it is therefore possible, in many cases, to use one or more molecules contained in foods as markers of authenticity.
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