 Authenticity testing of Basmati rice by DNA fingerprinting is of growing importance
Basmati rice has a distinctive aroma and its cooked grains have a characteristic shape. As a premium product it attracts higher prices. Adulteration of Basmati with conventional long grain rice has frequently been reported. A study of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), London, in the year 2003 showed, that out of a total of 363 samples examined, 17% had a non-Basmati rice content greater than 20% and 9% had a non-Basmati rice content greater than 60%.
Only 15 varieties of rice from specific regions of the Gangetic Plains of northern India and Pakistan have been approved by the Indian and Pakistani authorities as “Basmati” (the Hindi word for fragrant). Basmati is not only nearly twice as expensive as normal rice, but import tax is 250 ¤/ton lower than for conventional rice (EU-regulation 1503/96).
To help industry complying with regulatory demands, Eurofins Medigenomix' genotyping team has established a genetic test, which was developed by the FSA for identifying adulteration in Basmati rice. The screening method can detect the presence of other rice varieties blended with Basmati, and distinguish between the different varieties of Basmati, which are mentioned in the Survey on Basmati Rice from the FSA, FSIS 47/04 (-> Link). The test fully complies with the UK Code of Practice for Basmati Rice (see www.riceassociation.org.uk).
By this test we can quantify the presence of non-Basmati varieties of 3% or higher and are selling the test successfully to the rice milling and trading industry in Europe and India. A crucial part of our outstanding service is our quality management, which is based on our experience from human identity testing by DNA fingerprinting in the order of police authorities and on our access to authentic reference material. Based on the experience with numerous samples of different origin and mixture of rice varieties, our genotyping team is validating additional genetic markers to further improve the test.
For further information see flyer "Rice Authenticity by DNA Testing" (pdf; 750 KB).
NEW: Genetic test for fragrance in rice
On request of a customer, we have established a test for fragrance in rice, which was published recently at a scientific conference. The test is connected to a gene mutation and we could detect the "active" version of this gene, causing the typical fragrance, in all Basmati lines and also in Jasmin rice. The test can hence be used to support authenticity testing for Basmati and also Jasmin rice.
Our screening method gives rice importers a quick and reliable means of authenticating their supplies to allow both suppliers and consumers to have more confidence in genuine product labelling.
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Medigenomix has developed a test on the authenticity of British Aberdeen-Angus-Beef. Therefore we tested a series of genetic markers, specific for cattle, and identified a set, which is suited to differentiate between Aberdeen-Angus breed and others.
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