Isotopic test can ID origins of beef, rice

Kyodo News | The Japan Times Online

Feb. 18, 2010

A private laboratory in Yokohama plans to offer a service next month that can help detect fraudulent labeling of branded food products, lab officials said Wednesday.

This will be the first commercial isotope analysis service to identify the origins of beef and rice. The company will begin accepting orders in March.

Japan Isotope Analysis Laboratory Inc. said it can identify 15 beef brands, including high-end Matsusaka beef, with 93 percent accuracy using a database of their isotope compositions.

The lab also has a database for rice that can determine where grains come from among 17 prefectures, from Hokkaido to Gifu, and the region surrounding Tokyo. The database is particularly precise for varieties from Niigata Prefecture: It can determine whether rice comes from Minamiuonuma, a city known for its Uonuma Koshihikari brand.

To build the beef database, the lab obtained more than 1,000 samples from ranchers around the country and analyzed the isotope compositions of the four components of amino acids: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, the officials said. Isotopes of an element have the same number of atoms but different weights.

To make the rice database, the lab collected data on water and rice produced in about 700 locations nationwide, including 220 spots in Niigata alone, the officials said.

The lab is already using the technique for such products as bamboo shoots and buckwheat, and its clients include public offices and police stations.

japantimes.co.jp