Abstract
Traceability is the ability to find out in the history, use or origin of certain food. It is fundamental for the concept of food safety, quality and animal welfare to assure the authenticity and origin of food and final products (meat, milk, eggs), then consumers may know and evaluate the productive chain of the food they consume, as the population expects more reliable information from products they purchase. Considering the meat production model, nearly 10% of the world meat production for human consumption is internationally commercialized; although there is a traceability program for production system through earrings registers and tattoos on the animals, this information is not given to the consumers. Nowadays, some markets do not accept the animal only with registers and programs. The traceability of the final product as a way to assure to the consumers the food safely and protect the production of regions and countries is urgently due to safety questions. Analysis of stables isotopes of bioelements - carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur - has been used to control food traceability for more than twenty years because it is non-radioactive and does not harm the environment. These bioelements are part of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids structures being responsible for more than 90% of living tissues. The first products studies were fruit, juice, honey, wine and alcohol, and for all of them, the official method of isotopic analysis for detecting sugar or water addition has been used since 1978 in the USA and 1995 in Europe. In Brazil, this technique started being used in Geochemistry, Hydrology and Agronomy areas due to the natural interaction between rock, soil and water, and consequently the plants. There is a proposal of UNESP to establish an official methodology through stable isotopes to detect the addition of prohibited food in animal diet, such as the animal meals, initially in products for exportation. The addition of these protein sources is forbidden by the European Union and Islamic countries which expect to buy only products from animals exclusively fed with vegetal food due to the mad cow disease. Brazil has an important role in the world agribusiness scenery, and the traceability of final products through stable isotopes can make the certification program of Brazilian products mode competitive in the international market, assuring to the consumers the concept of food safety. Another approach of the project is evaluate the technique of environmental stable isotopes in physiology, nutrition and animal metabolism, providing a new tool to improve the search for information and concepts in the Animal Science area. Thus based on the facts described above, the implementation in Brazil of a new area of application of the traceability system through stable isotopes of bioelements in areas of ruminant, non-ruminant and aquiculture is relevant. (AU)
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