Implementation of a Molecular System for Traceability of Beef Based on Microsatellite Markers

A B S T R A C TAnimal products traceability has acquired considerable importance as a security measure in EEC member countries since the food crisis of the mid-nineties. This has led to reinforcing the capacity to manage cattle product quality, with traceability emerging as the main tool to prevent risks to product security and quality as demanded by consumers in developed countries. The practical application of a traceability system for beef, based on molecular markers requires the election of a panel of microsatellites, as well as the optimization of methods of sampling and DNA analysis. In this work, a traceability system for beef based on a panel of 10 microsatellites markers was implemented. Different biological samples were evaluated, such as hair, blood, tissue and meat. Hair samples were the most suitable because they are easy to obtain and to manipulate, and have a low storage cost; whereas in the food processing chain, meat samples were the most suitable due to the facility of obtaining from the maturation room. The traceability system was evaluated in a meat processing plant, confirming traceability of 150 samples of hair with their respective meat counterparts with a 100% of certainty, demonstrating the reliability of the developed method. The implemented system is an important contribution since it allows for ensuring the quality of animal products, and can be used as a tool to certify conventional traceability systems. This would allow for increasing the competitiveness of this sector and generating greater confidence among consumers.Key words: traceability, microsatellites, individual identification, beef. INTRODUCTIONIncreased global trade and the need to ensure the safety and quality of food products imposes the demand on exporting countries of ensuring the origin of their products, in order to avoid the repetition of problems experienced in Europe in the 1990s with the diffusion of pathologies such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie in ovines, foot and mouth disease and classical swine fever. As well, there are requirements to detect hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, lead and/or pathogens in foods and products of animal origin. At the same time, the increased risk of bio-terrorist attacks is also considered a food safety factor, mainly in the United States and the EEC. As a result, main importing countries have developed a series of regulations and measures to control these risks to human health in order to ensure consumer confidence. The direct consequence on exporting countries has been the establishment of policies for the individual identification and follow-up of animals and their products through the application of new technologies adapted to the needs of current global trade, with traceability being one of the main results of these policies (Council of the European Communities, 2000). In general, traceability is a set of technical actions, measures and procedures that allow for identifying and registering a product from its origin until the end of the commercial chain (Fernandez, 2002). In the case of meat, this means follow-up throughout the production chain, from the birth of the animal, its raising and production practices in the feedlot, transport, slaughter, and final sale of meat products. This process should ensure the