Genetic characterization of chañar foods by means of genetic footprinting to argue their application for Denomination of Origin

Abstract

The seal of origin can contribute to give greater added value to agricultural products in the market, giving differentiation, positioning, reliability and status. According to INAPI, in order to obtain a seal of origin, the association of the product with its geographical area must be demonstrated. In the following work we use genetic tools to find the association of foods based on chañar (Geoffroea decorticans) with its geographical area. In this way, we intend to provide the first technical background to justify the registration of Denomination of Origen (DO) of foods from chañar made with raw material from the Copiapó Valley. For this we develop a genetic characterization of chañar foods with microsatellite molecular markers (SSR). The results showed that there are exclusive alleles in chañar flours from different localities in northern Chile, being able to discriminate between chañar flours from different locations.