Advances in vegetable oil authentication by DNA-based markers

The suitability of DNA markers providing unequivocal identifiers for authentication and traceability of food has been a subject of an increasing number of reports. Even in complex food matrices such as vegetable oils, the use of molecular markers as diagnostic tools has been exploited. Considering the wide variety of vegetable oils available for consumers and the differences in prices, especially among premium olive oil and other oils, species adulteration leading to economic losses and loss of consumer confidence can arise. In this review, the advances of DNA extraction protocols are emphasized as a crucial step to overcome. Specific identification of several plant oils as potential adulterants of olive oil has been a subject of very recent progresses. When the oilseed crops are the source of vegetable oil production, additional concerns due to the presence of genetically modified organisms have prompted to further improvements in DNA analysis. In the specific case of olive oil, the use of genetic markers has provided analytical tools to assess authenticity regarding cultivar identification as independent markers from environmental fluctuations.