Tests conducted on ethnic products intended for human consumption sold in Italy revealed that nearly 80% contained ingredients not declared on the labels. Animal DNA was even detected in all the plant-based products analyzed.
This is what emerges from a study conducted by the FishLab of the Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa, led by Professor Andrea Armani, and published in Food Control, an internationally renowned scientific journal for food safety.
The study, the first in Italy to use the metabarcoding technique on a large scale on samples collected as part of official controls, analyzed 62 foods sold between Lazio and Tuscany, also identifying the presence of undeclared allergenic species, such as fish and shellfish, which pose potential health risks to consumers.
The research, which lasted two years and was funded by the Ministry of Health, was conducted in collaboration with the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany “M. Aleandri” (Izslt).
FishLab's contribution has been crucial in developing and applying innovative protocols based on NGS technologies , capable of complementing the official methods already in use and thus strengthening surveillance systems for food quality and transparency.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)
