Lab traces meat from farm to table
Lawrence - It’s an age-old question in America - where’s the beef? At the Identigen labs in West Lawrence, that question is being answered through the use of DNA technology.
“More and more consumers want to know the story behind what’s on their plate, about where their food is coming from and where it’s been processed,” said Stacie Eliades-Becker, manager of genotyping operations. Identigen’s DNA Traceback program can tell that story – tracing meat from the farm, to the grocery store and to the kitchen table, and anywhere in between.
“We take a sample of an animal, whether it be at a farm or ranch. When the animal is harvested - and then anywhere down the food chain whether it be processing center, retail store, a restaurant - we can take a follow up sample and match it back to that original sample,” said Eliades-Becker. “Essentially it’s like taking a DNA fingerprint.”
Identigen was founded in Ireland after the mad cow disease incidents of the 1990s. Those events resulted in consumers and lawmakers demanding more transparency from food companies. Eliades-Becker says DNA Traceback meets that demand and keeps producers honest about how they raise their animals. “Attributes you add to your meat for example: wheat or grass fed, this or that, it’s a way of verifying those claims through the traceability throughout the entire food chain.”
“They [consumers] want that value added assurance that, ‘this meat that I'm providing to my consumers is what I say it is and also along safety lines, that I can tell you the exact animal that came from.’” she said.
Identigen uses high-tech machinery in order to process the thousands of samples they receive. Those machines also allow the company to keep operational fees and staff at a minimum, costing consumers only pennies per pound in the end.
The company is currently tracing beef and pork products, but they hope to move into the fish and poultry industry soon. Identigen is also working with the state of Kansas on research to aid in food recalls. “We’re working with KBA, Kansas Bioscience Authority, to identify the potential, through DNA testing and genotyping, to be able to differentiate the batches to specifically show which batch may be involved in a recall,” said Research Associate Sidney Platz. “If we can help through DNA traceability to be able to decrease that amount that’s recalled or destroyed it would help keep the cost down of the product.“
As Identigen expands and DNA technology improves, Eliades-Becker hopes the work that she’s doing can forever change the food industry. “There is a complexity to the food system, especially in the United States,” she said. “This provides, I’d say, some transparency in that system which historically we have not had.”