What are we consuming? The answer is in the genes. How to distinguish rice varieties and combat food fraud.
It won’t be the most talked about type of fraud, but there are also fraud not rice.
Is the rice that arrives at our table always what the label promises? To answer this question, a study was developed by researchers from ITQB NOVA – António Xavier Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.
The analysis deepens knowledge about the genetics of the rice we buy, this food that is the basis of the diet of half of the world’s population.
And, in Europe, the people who consume the most rice are the Portuguese.
But there is a lot of rice that arrives outside of Europe. THE basmati, for example, it is a variety that has been growing.
And it increases the risk of misleading claims about the origin and about the variety of products – a problem already highlighted by the European Food Safety Authority.
These are frauds that lead consumers to pay more for products that may not match as advertised and harm honest producers.
In this study, the genome of various types of rice circulating on the European market, sometimes associated with higher prices.
Small variations in the DNA, known as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).
The analysis revealed the existence of two large genetic groups in the analyzed rice and identified multiple DNA “signatures” that can be used for certification purposes.
“We identified five small variations in the genome that, together, have the potential to distinguish the 22 varieties we considered in this study”, describes Maria Beatriz Vieira, one of the first authors of the study.
“This could be a more economical way of identifying varieties compared to more extensive and, therefore, more expensive genetic panels”, continues Maria, in a statement sent to ZAP.
The researchers analyzed 22 varieties of rice considered to be of high value by producers and industrialists. 20 of them saw your genome sequenced for the first time in this study.
The Portuguese variety most similar to basmati rice is “Torch”.
“By better understanding the genetic relationship of these varieties and the signatures that distinguish them, we can not only detect food fraudbut also develop rice more adapted to Mediterranean conditions”, adds Hugo Rodrigues, another of the study’s first authors.
These new data identify potential genetic markers associated with characteristics such as drought resistance and grain quality.
“This information can guide genetic improvement strategies and support the development of higher quality rice varieties that are better adapted to current and future environmental conditions”, concludes Pedro Barros, researcher at the Institute and corresponding author.
