A proteomics perspective: from animal welfare to food safety

A fundamental issue of farm animal welfare is to keep animals clinically healthy, without disease or stress, particularly in intensive breeding, in order to produce safe and quality food. This issue is highly relevant for the food industry worldwide as they are directly linked to public health and welfare. The aim of this review is to explore how proteomics can assess and improve the knowledge useful for the strategic management of products of animal origin. Useful indications are provided about the latest proteomics tools for the development of novel biotechnologies serving the public health. The multivariate proteomics approach provides the bases for the discovery of biomarkers useful to investigate adaptation syndromes and oxidative stress. These two responses represent the milestones for the study of animal welfare. Moreover their implementation in the characterization and standardization of raw materials, process development, and quality and safety control of the final product of animal origin represents the current frontier in official surveillance and tests development.