Logo of the Information System for Agriculture and Food Research

Information System for Agriculture and Food Research

Information platform of the Federal and State Governments

Development and validation of innovative methods for tracing and authentification of animal proteins in food and feed, Subproject 3 (Animal-ID)

Project


Project code: 2816503714
Contract period: 15.04.2016 - 14.04.2019
Budget: 266,911 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research

The projects aims to develop improved analytical protein based tools for the reliable detection of animal material in feed and food. The methods shall be of use for the food and feed producing industry as well as official control bodies. In the field of food analysis this shall be achieved by rapid and easy-to-use tests which can be applied by e.g. customs authorities as well as quality control laboratories at production plants. Analytical gaps in feed analyses will be closed by innovative mass spectrometric approaches in combination with immunological and molecular biology based methods. Apart from increasing consumers distrust in the quality of food, illegal meat components may also pose a real health risk, if potentially prion-contaminated feed enters the food chain. The economic damage by fraudulently declared commodities might be considerably. Furthermore, carryover during storage or transport may lead to non-declared traces of animal derived proteins in the food and feed chain. The analytical traceability and authentification of the zoological origin of meat is of particular meaning if macroscopic differentiation is no longer possible (e.g. granulate, deep frozen, reformed meat, processed animal proteins (PAP), hydrolysed protein or blood products like spray dried plasma and other pre-products). Moreover, in the production of animal meals extreme processing conditions are proscribed. Since the methods available so far do not cover all analytical requirements, new methods are urgently needed to enable complete controls at all critical hazard points – from farm to fork – to support law enforcement and consumer protection. The working plan includes three focal parts. i) Simple to use and highly sensitive rapid antibody based tests shall be developed and validated for quick in place food control. The antibodies for these rapid tests will be developed in an innovative, two-step procedure using heated extracts of animal proteins. In this way a substantial improveme.

show more show less

Subjects

Advanced Search