DNA barcoding: a modern age tool for detection of adulteration in food

Abstract

Globalization of the food trade requires precise and exact information about the origin, methods of production, transformation technologies, authentication, and the traceability of foodstuffs. New challenges in food supply chains such as deliberate fraudulent substitution, tampering or mislabeling of food and its ingredients or food packaging incapacitates the market and eventually the national economy. Currently, no proper standards have been established for the authentication of most of the food materials. However, in order to control food fraud, various robust and cost-effective technologies have been employed, like a spectrophotometer, GC-MS, HPLC, and DNA barcoding. Among these techniques, DNA barcoding is a biotechnology advantage with the principle of using 400–800 bp long standardi