Omics-based technologies for food authentication and traceability

In a globalized and technologically advanced food market—facing rapid innovation and evolution—consumers need to get reliable information about the food they eat. On the other hand, stakeholders in the food industry and governments need reliable analytical methods and suitable regulations to certify that food labels are correct and guarantee that food is safe and meeting consumers’ expectations. In the past decades, a number of either deliberate or accident scandals shook the food market, and international operations were put in place to prevent food fraud. Food fraud can affect all types of products and all the world regions. In the best of cases, it may involve deception of consumers who pay high prices for low-quality products, which in turn compromises the image of high-quality products. In the worst cases, consumers’ safety may be at serious risk for the presence of dangerous contaminants or undeclared allergens. Other issues are related to deliberate false statements on geographical origin, production process, or biological identity. The need of analytical methods to verify and certify that food and its ingredients are safe and compliant with the labels is not surprising. In this scenario, omics tools appear as promising approaches for their high-throughput capacity and ability to circumvent the limits of traditional methodologies. Hence, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and a range of novel “omics” are continuously implemented to authenticate the quality, safety, and origin of several food commodities. In this chapter, far from being exhaustive, some recent nice applications of omics technologies for the assessment of food authenticity and traceability are presented and discussed.