This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Un nuevo método permite autentificar la especie de atún en conserva en pocas horas

The methodology developed by Azti-Tecnalia results of big help for the industry conservera and for autentificar the exposed in the labeling

A new method allows autentificar the species of tuna in preserve in few hours

David Pozo14/03/2014

The technological centre Azti-Tecnalia has developed a new method that will allow to detect in less than 24 hours the type of tuna in preserve analysed and know if it treats , for example, of beautiful north, yellowfin or patudo. It is not a question baladí, since for the industry results of big interest, in the measure that works in crowd of occasions with tuna that already come frozen products and results very difficult to differentiate the species, comporting errors in the labeling. We have analysed with Miguel Ángel Pardo, of the Unit of Alimentary Investigation of Azti-Tecnalia, which are the advantages of this proof with regard to the genetic methodologies carried out to date.

The new system of detection of DNA of the tuna, developed by the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Azti-Tecnalia and accredited by Enac, allows to differentiate the different species even in foods already processed. “To date the most used technicians to differentiate the typology of tuna was the secuenciación, isolating one or several fragments of DNA of the fabric of the fish read the resultant sequence with the equipment corresponding sequencers, and compared with some databases. It treated , in definite, of a slow process. What do with the new method is to isolate equally the fragment of DNA, but now no longer goes through a sequencer for afterwards compare the results”, explains Miguel Ángel Pardo. “Now we work with some fluorescent probes, specific of the fragment that are looking for, in this case tuna. We have a battery of corresponding probes to the different typologies that exist and confront them with the isolated fragment. When the probe answers with a fluorescent light is that it coincides with the type of tuna analysed”.

Miguel Ángel Pardo, researcher of the Unit of Alimentary Investigation of Azti-Tecnalia.

Time is money For any company and this method purchases a special importance for the industry by the rapidity with which can obtain equal results of reliable that with the traditional methods of secuenciación. “What have achieved is to do the same that achieves secuenciando, but in place of in several days, in an alone day”, concludes.

Another of the big advantages is the big reliability of this method, even in foods already processed. “The preserve happens all a series of processes of baked and sterilisation and finally add him oils, salt, sauces and even vinegar. All this does that the DNA degrade and the secuenciación was almost impossible. Instead, with the new method, when needing fragments shorter of information, can say us the type of tuna even in products so processed as they are the preserves”, matiza the researcher of Azti-Tecnalia.

This method, that already is available in the market and accredited by Enac, comes working Azti-Tecnalia from does more than five years. “This project has been one of the a lot of resulted fruit of the agreements that our centre has with the Basque government. In our region exists a big tradition pesquera and conservera, and from the public sector and to the own industry interests him improve the trazabilidad of these products”, matiza Miguel Ángel Pardo.

One of the big benefited of this method is the consumer, since it contributes to autentificar the exposed in the labeling. “To part to avoid any type of fraud, what pretends is to improve the perception of the consumer to a product that sometimes also has a high cost. To the industry interests him, on the one hand, because when buying big batches frozen products and baked to process results him difficult differentiate visualmente a species of another, and by another, to realizar a self-supervision inside the own sector”. It adds, “Besides, control the species results fundamental for the sustainability of the marine resources. Controlling his population can avoid that they commit abuses in the fishing of determinate species”.

The Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Azti-Tecnalia continues working in the development of new methodologies of authentication of different marine species to improve the trazabilidad. “It does a lot of years that come working with products like the Beautiful north or the anchovies, very rooted in the Basque Country. We have set up methods that are able to distinguish the populations, for example, of Beautiful north, of the Mediterranean, of the Atlantic, etc., with the sight put in a future regulation of a D.Or. Beautiful north. And the same with the anchovy, distinguishing the one of the Mediterranean of the one of the Bay of Biscay, that are the same species but of a distinct quality”, concludes Miguel Ángel Pardo. Equally, from the laboratories of Azti-Tecnalia have carried out in the last years projects so interesting like the one of the method to avoid the fraud with Mandarins in the juices of orange, already almost eradicated, or a system of authentication of the variety of coffee arábica.