Food Forensics and Toxicology by Titus A. M. Msagati

Author:Titus A. M. Msagati
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119101383
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published: 2017-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

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Application of Molecular Biology Techniques in Food Forensics

Food forensics is a diverse discipline that covers various techniques and methods throughout all major scientific spheres, such as molecular biology, microbiology, physics, biochemistry, chemistry, etc. Molecular biology techniques involve protein and DNA analysis for the identification, fingerprinting, and authenticity testing of food samples or species presented as evidence. Molecular biology methods rely on the presence of rare features of the species’ genome or peptide sequence at a specific level of taxonomy that is highly dependent on the level of specificity needed as evidence that can be trusted beyond reasonable doubt for identification.

Molecular science methods are known to have a sensitivity high enough to correctly match the specimen found in the food to the corresponding species, even though the food material has been highly degraded during the multi‐stage steps involved in processing or in cases where the sample contains very low quantities of the genetic material. These methods are both qualitative and quantitative, thus attractive for use in food forensics and food forensic‐toxicology. This chapter will focus mainly on the usefulness of molecular techniques in the identification of forensic cases for the types of foods that originate from certain groups of animals and plants. Animal groups will include those from edible species of vertebrates, such as selected mammalian livestock (cows, sheep, swine, and goats), endangered mammalian wild animals (rhinoceroses and tigers), aves or birds (chicken, ostrich, and ducks), and actinopterygian (fishes, e.g. tuna, etc.), as well as edible aquatic turtles.

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