THE DNA "BARCODE"-A NEW "PEEPING" TECHNOLOGY!

With sophisticated electronic instruments available to day, detailing the features of any material on earth has become easy and reliable. It was not long ago that personal identification was being done on the basis of photographs but to day biometric measurements have become standard techniques for such tasks widely used world over. The fact that each living species has its own genetic sequence has enabled their identification in a cocktail using the well established DNA printing. This technology has now found a new use in the hands of regulators in detecting adulterants and contaminants in many foods. By compiling a master reference DNA finger prints of all species whether animal based or plant based or microorganism based, it is possible to day to compare the DNA sequence of a particular food material and find out what ingredients are present in it. Here is the fascinating story of DNA Barcode system evolved in Canada that is likely to revolutionize the safety monitoring protocols world over.  

"Scientists have discovered a range of new uses for a Canadian technology that can be used to peer into 30,000-year-old permafrost, detect phoney herbal medicines and catch invasive species before they sneak across borders. Researchers from around the world are fingerprinting most of the planet's species by taking samples of their DNA and cataloguing them in a comprehensive reference library.
The DNA creates a so-called barcode that can identify real ingredients in food, quickly analyze water quality and reveal how the environment has changed over millenia. Bob Hanner, a professor at the University of Guelph where the technique was developed, said barcoding gives governments, businesses and people a reliable way of knowing what they're eating, importing and buying.
We have a very powerful tool to identify species in processed products that you wouldn't normally be able to identify using traditional morphological techniques, Hanner said from Guelph, Ont., before heading to an international conference on barcoding in Australia starting Monday. It's a very exciting time. Researchers from dozens of institutions are steadily building the library of barcodes by taking short gene sequences from samples of birds, fish, mammals, insects and other life forms at herbaria, museums and other facilities.
They hope it will one day give them a master list of the world's species that can be used by corporate interests and government agencies for a growing number of applications. Since being developed at Guelph in 2003, the technique has been adopted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a regulatory tool and was used to identify mislabelled cheap fish being sold at American restaurants as more expensive species. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is using barcodes to collaborate with its U.S. counterparts to identify seafood, pest insects and pathogenic fungi. Environment Canada is also using it to measure species diversity in watersheds and identify materials they've confiscated, Hanner said. But Hanner says that as the library grows, so do the ways they can use barcoding.
Scientists in Malaysia who are contributing to the plant barcode library used it to reveal that a herbal medicine didn't contain the ingredient it promised would treat malaria and diabetes. Others found weeds in herbal teas".

Such efforts to establish reliable monitoring technology should not be left to any one country but must be based on collective efforts and cooperative endeavor. An agency like WHO or FAO must step in to take this program further for common benefit of all countries. Setting up of regional reference DNA libraries and networking them globally can be expected to bring down food poisoning episodes dramatically in coming years. Besides this will also help in settling trade disputes regarding food quality among the exporting and importing countries.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ANOTHER "REPORT"- ARE THE FINDINGS BASED ON REAL DATA BASE?

Report making is becoming a big business especially in India as many consultancy and market survey groups are emerging with offer of their services that is supposed to help new entrepreneurs, industry and the government in planning their policies and initiatives. But what competence they have and the extent of resources at their command are questions that must worry those who invest in buying these reports. If the latest report on fast food industry is to be taken at its face value one has to believe that only multinational companies are eligible to receive the tag of fast food players! The report conveniently ignores the existence of thousands of desi fast food out lets that span across the length and breadth of the country covering not only urban areas coming under Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities but also almost all villages where there is habitation. The projection of 35% annual growth looks impressive but from where the authors got the basic data from which growth rate has been calculated. Here is a take on this report.

"As per our new research report "Indian Fast Food Market Analysis", India is blessed with one of the fastest growing fast food markets in the world. The Indian fast food market is growing at an annual growth rate of 30-35%. Almost all big fast food brands of the world have succeeded in making their presence felt in the country and most of them posting an appreciable growth. Most of the popular fast food chains have chalked out massive plans for expanding their business and presence throughout the country. Moreover, foreign fast food chains are aggressively expanding their presence in the country. For instance, Domino's plan to open 60-65 outlets every year for the next three years (2010-2012), while Yum Brands Inc is also preparing for its massive expansion across the country. It plans to open 1000 fast food outlets by 2015. Although the market has witnessed robust growth in the past couple of years, it remains largely under penetrated and concentrated in the metropolitan cities. However, there is large room for growth in tier-II cities, tier-III cities which are mostly untapped. Therefore, the future of Indian fast food industry lies in masses that live tier-II and tier-III cities".

It is called a research report but lacks clarity on many issues besides short on credibility. It has to be borne in mind that there is no agreed definition on what constitutes a fast food and when world over fast food joints are attracting scathing criticism for peddling unhealthy and nutritionally unbalanced foods. While it is an undeniable fact that these foods cause life style health disorders including CVD, Blood Pressure Diabetes and Obesity, here is an organization that is enticing new entrepreneurs through bloated claims and drawing rosy pictures about future. If the dhabas, Udipi hotels, Darshini type joints, multi cuisine restaurants etc are taken into consideration, growth of this sector cannot be 30-35% unless there is a dramatic jump in the per capita income of the population.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com