New Genetic approaches for automated feed authentication

Animal feed are at the base of the human food chain and their composition is fundamental for animal health and growth, as well as for the safety, nutritional and organoleptic properties of the derived products. For this reason, EU law demands that the composition of compound feed is declared in the label and the quantitative amount of each ingredient is recorded by the producer to be made available on request. In addition, the production of specific PDO products such as Parmesan cheese must follow strict disciplinary rules with regard to the animal diet, including the assurance that prohibited species are absent. The authenticity of feed composition can be determined by genetic approaches through DNA analysis, to ascertain the presence and the abundance of any given plant species. New analytical, automated methods are under evaluation within the framework of the EU-funded project FEED-CODE, aimed at the quantitative determination of feed composition. Aspects concerning the way to establish cut-off values for presence/absence determination, and the possibility of a reliable quantitative measurement of the single components, done by DNA analysis, are investigated within the project also with reference to suitable standards.