RNA biomarkers could help detect animal traces in vegan food
In January, SciLifeLab Fellow alumni Marc Friedländer was awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for his project “Food quality control by RNA profiling (foodRNA)”. It’s a major achievement for Marc and also part of a broader trend of SciLifeLab researchers receiving ERC support. The project idea is to use RNA biomarkers to detect any contamination in food.
The ERC project covers a really interesting and timely topic. When the grant was announced, we contacted Marc to learn more, but had to wait for patent clearance. Now, we’ve got more info about “foodRNA”.
RNA fragments in unexpected places
In Marc’s research group, they have over the last years discovered that RNA molecules are, surprisingly, present in various environmental samples. This includes ancient animals preserved in permafrost and in museum samples, but also in airborne particles and even food products.
The RNA molecules appear to be highly fragmented, but can be retrieved and analyzed with specialized methods. Importantly, these fragments can potentially yield information about organismal health, stress and the presence of RNA viruses.
Tracking animal content in vegan foods
For this particular project, they will investigate the presence of animal material in supposedly vegan food products, using specific RNA biomarkers. Such contamination could occur accidentally during food production, transport and preparation or intentionally as part of food fraud.
The successful completion of this project will help ensure transparency and rights of consumers and can also protect them from undeclared food allergens.
What is an ERC Proof of Concept Grant?
The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is available to recipients of an existing ERC award and supports early-stage efforts to transform research findings into commercially or socially valuable innovations.
Speaking about the project, Marc said it will not only develop his knowledge about the commercialization process. But also the subject itself. “It was very interesting to learn and write about paths to commercialization and also about food quality control, since these are new topics to me. I normally do basic research on RNA biology,” he said in an interview with Stockholm University.
Marc Friedländer received an ERC Starting Grant in 2017: Detection of transcriptome-wide microRNA–target interactions in single cells with agoTRIBE.
