2005 Press Releases
Guaranteed Irish? - Last Lecture Series, 7 September
Do we know what we're eating and can we believe what it says on the wrapper?
On Wednesday next (September 7th) UCC's highly popular Science Lecture
Series, titled this year -The Last Lecture Series - to reflect
the European Capital of Culture celebrations in Cork, will provide
ample food for thought when one of Ireland's most eminent scientists,
Profesor Paddy Cunningham of TCD, discusses the story of meat and its
origins.
And the story is intriguing on several fronts. Over two decades ago, it
was Professor Cunningham's research into the origins of various cattle
breeds in India, Ireland and Africa, that led to the amazing discovery
of the true nature of man's domestication of cattle. Prior to that, it
had been widely accepted that mankind began domesticating cattle about
10,000 years ago, but by profiling cattle DNA in this country, Africa
and India, Professor Cunningham proved otherwise. To the astonishment
of the scientific world, he showed that animal husbandry began in India
at least 500,000 years earlier than had been believed, and thus
debunked the widely held view that it began in the near East, in the
region known as the Fertile Crescent. Here was proof beyond doubt that
there had been separate domestications of cattle in widely separate
regions of the globe.
That was how research into animal DNA, aimed at increasing milk yields,
produced a truly serendipitous scientific moment. There was to be
another, and for today's consumers, perhaps a more telling one.
Professor Cunningham and his team went on to apply the DNA test they
had developed to the question of identifying the source of the meat we
eat, and their method, patented by the TCD spin-off company, IdentiGen,
remains the only foolproof method of doing so. In this country, it is
used by the supermarket chain, Superquinn, and in the UK by Sainsbury.
The fact that the availability of their test came on stream at the
height of the BSE fears, helped to reassure many consumers.
The BSE and accompanying CJD scares have abated somewhat nowadays, but
according to Professor Cunningham, not everything in the world of meat
sales is as upfront as it might seem. Two years ago, he was asked to
analyse meat which bore the "Irish beef" tag on the packet and found
that in fact, it had originated in Brazil. There was no doubt about the
findings - DNA is foolproof. "It's not that there's anything wrong with
Brazilian beef, it's just that the packaging was misleading to the
consumer and it was done purely for profit motives. I'm afraid
consumers are still being duped because often, the paper trail used to
prove the origin and source of meat, does not stand up to scrutiny. DNA
testing is the only system that is absolutely reliable. People are
making money out of false claims and those claims continue to be made,"
he said.
Two years ago, Japanese Government officials travelled to Ireland to
acquaint themselves with Professor Cunningham's system, and
subsequently, Japan introduced it - the first country in the world to
do so. Given that about 80 per cent of Irish beef is exported, a
similar move by the Government here would give the Irish beef trade a
powerful boost, and once and for all, leave consumers free to choose
without worrying about the reliability of their meat, Professor
Cunningham said.
The lecture, titled, Cattle, Culture and the Consumer - following
the DNA Trail will be given in UCC's Boole Lecture Theatre 4 at 8 pm on
Wednesday, 7 September. As always, admission is free and members of the
public are invited to attend. The series is organised by Professor
William Reville, Faculty of Science, UCC.
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