Review on Development System of Traceability in Dairy Processing

Abstract

The application of molecular methods is widely implemented in the traceability systems in the food sector, covering many types of food, as it is shown in this review. The rapid implementation of traceability systems in the food system is due to these techniques with high specificity, sensitivity, efficiency, and speed. In addition, compared with protein-based techniques, DNA-based techniques can be applied to any type of product, regardless of the treatment of processing to which it has been subjected. Future trends in the development of molecular or genetic tools for food traceability are focused on the search of techniques to obtain more information in the shortest time possible. Techniques that allow the identification, both at the species and population level, also facilitate the determination of the geographic origin. At present, one of the most promising techniques is the Digital PCR (dPCR), which allows the analysis of samples containing mixtures of species with high sensitivity and in a single assay, making multiple reactions in parallel through a nanofluidic chip. The application of emerging technologies, microfluidics, and nanotechnology in the development of molecular methods will obtain greater sensitivity, discriminatory power, reproducibility, and speed, thus increasing its potential in the traceability of the food sector.