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Wild-caught seafood is vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which often leads to overfishing and destruction of marine environments. A recent study has developed a method to determine the geographical origin of seafood using oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) composition imprinted in the shells and bones of seafood (δ¹⁸O_biomin). This value is determined by ocean composition and temperature rather than the seafood's biology.  Global ocean isoscapes of predicted δ¹⁸O_biomin values specific to fish (otoliths), cephalopod (statoliths) and shellfish (shells), and a fourth combined “universal” isoscape, were evaluated in their ability to derive δ¹⁸O_biomin values among known-origin samples. After validation and testing of the method, it was  demonstrated that this global isoscape can be used to correctly identify the origins of a wide range of marine animals living in different latitudes. After removing tuna species from the analyses, a prediction rate of up to 90% in classifying fish, cephalopods, and shellfish between the tropical waters of Southeast Asia and the cooler waters of southern Australia was obtained. Further research is planned to incorporate other chemical markers into improving the prediction of geographical origin. 

Read the full open access paper and the corresponding article here

Analytical testing at every step along the global supply chain is essential to ensure food safety, authenticity, quality and regulatory compliance and is an important component in a factory’s FSQMS (Food Safety and Quality Management System). This paper provides guidance for factory regulatory and technical managers on the basic principles behind the analytical strategies and procedures commonly used to test products in the food and drink industry. It is written by Sterling Crewe, who is Chair of the Food Authenticity Network's Board. The paper discusses the importance of choosing the right method and laboratory, and taking into account the method uncertainties and any regulatory considerations in the interpretation of the results.

Read the full open access paper

Coffee bean quality is measured on a decimal scale from zero to 100, and a speciality coffee must score 80 or more. This Q-scale allows buyers to differentiate premium coffee from lower scoring ‘commodity’ coffee. Samples of raw beans are sent to three expert tasters, who prepare coffee from each batch, and score it to determine its Q score. Brazilian researchers have developed a rapid method based on MSI and AI (artifical intelligence), which can obtain a Q score avoiding human error. Although very promising, the technique requires further research as the model cannot determine whether beans score is 80 or 90, which would require further calibration with coffee beans having these Q scores. 

Read the full article here

JRC has published its monthly summary on articles covering food fraud and adulteration. In this issue, there are articles on frauds involving:

• olive oil
• molasses and sugar
• fruits, vegetables
• soy, seafood
• meat
• alcoholic beverages and wine
• cereals
• milk
• cheese
• tea
• sauces
• fruit juices.

Read the full summary at: August 2022 JRC Food Fraud Summary

High performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to identify gelatin from seven commercial cyprinid fishes;, black carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, common carp, crucian carp, and Wuchang bream.

By comparison with theoretical mammalian collagen (bovine and porcine collagen), the common and unique theoretical peptides were found in the collagen of grass carp, silver carp, and crucian carp, respectively.  Seven common characteristic peptides were obtained from the fish gelatins. Moreover, 44, 36, and 42 unique characteristic peptides were detected in the gelatins of grass carp, silver carp, and crucian carp, respectively.

The researchers concluded that the combined use of common and unique characteristic peptides could verify fish gelatin in comparison with mammalian gelatin.

Read abstract.

Yellow fruit varieties of tomatoes attract a premium price in many Mediterranean countries, particularly the landrace of Pomodorino giallo del Vesuvio  (“GiaGiù” or E40).

The aim of this work was to phenotypically and genotypically distinguish the GiaGiù landrace through morphological descriptors and molecular markers, in order to provide an effective tool to authenticate this product as fresh and processed tomatoes.

The distinctive traits of GiaGiù were the potato leaf morphology and the pyriform shape with a pointed apex of the yellow fruits. The genotypic distinction of E40 was performed by using two Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) markers designed on a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) of the Phytoene synthase 1 (psy1) gene that confers the yellow color to tomato fruit and already known as specific of GiaGiù genotype. Additional CAPS markers were designed on two private mutations of E40 genes derived from data retrieved from a Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS) dataset, already available.

These findings were confirmed by comparing E40 private mutations with the 360 accessions of the BGI tomato 360 genomes resequencing project. The designed markers allowed the researchers to distinguish GiaGiù in all fresh and processed fruit tomato matrices tested, providing a molecular tool to authenticate GiaGiù products.

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Authorities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan are using a mobile testing laboratory to check the authenticity of milk sold in local shops. 

They have recently identified and destroyed more than 2,000 litres of milk diluted with water or adulterated with other chemicals and have closed a number of dairy shops.

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In this study, the Thermo Scientific™ NGS Food Authenticity Workflow was used to analyse spices and herbs.  

Reference samples were analysed to verify the specificity, and spikings down to 1% (w/w) allowed verification of its sensitivity including in complex mixtures of five different spices and/or herbs. 

272 commercial samples were collected in Asian and European markets.  78% of the commercial samples were compliant with the declared content, whereas the rest were shown to contain undeclared species that were in a few cases allergenic or potentially toxic. 

The researchers conclude that the overall workflow is user-friendly and straightforward, which makes it simple to use and facilitates data interpretation.

Access abstract.

 Photo by Ratul Ghosh on Unsplash

Photo by Alice Pasqual on Unsplash

According to the current food legislation in Bulgaria, dried herbs are classified under the large group of food supplements and their trade is allowed in pharmacies, drugstores and grocery stores.

Researchers sampled 103 dried herb food supplements on sale in Bulgaria and analyses them using macro- and microscopic tests. 

They found that the majority of samples failed to meet specification and that there was widespread adulteration and foreign body contamination.  17.5% of samples contained species which are prohibited for consumption due to their pyrrolizidine alkaloid content.

This work implies the need for strengthening control of herbs and spices.

Read the full paper.

Shellfish harvesting is highly regulated in most countries, including the UK.  Harvest areas are opened or closed by regulatory authorities depending on water quality and potentially toxic algal blooms.  Illegal harvesting from closed areas puts consumers at risk as they can carry E coli, norovirus or be contaminated with high levels of toxic chemicals..  It is a perennial problem and previous incidents have involved large-scale organised crime.

A recent crackdown by authorities (the council, Sussex Police, Food Standards Agency, National Food Crime Unit, Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and Gangmaster Labour Abuse Authority) on the English South Coast led to the seizure of illegally harvested shellfish.

This case was part of Operation Pearl and involved months of covert investigations had taken place to understand how the illegally harvested shellfish were reaching food businesses and consumers.

 A three-dimensional paper-based microfluidic device has been designed and fabricated to simultaneously detect multiple chemical adulterants in milk using a visual colourimetric indicator. 

It is intended as a quick and cheap screening test for use in developing countries.  

The authors propose that it could be used by consumers to check milk before consumption.

It was shown to detect urea, detergents, soap, starch, hydrogen peroxide, sodium-hydrogen-carbonate, and salt which had been added to milk at concentrations between 0.05% and 0.2% v/v.

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Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash

This paper reviews recently published Chinese research to highlight the recent advances of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) as a regulatory and verification tool for Chinese food products.  It covers more than 100 IRMS research papers that use up to 5 light stable isotopes (³C/¹²C, ²H/¹H, ¹⁵N/¹⁴N, ¹⁸O/¹⁶O, ³⁴S/³²S) as authenticity markers, combined with chemometric models. 

The range of food products include organic foods, honey, beverages, tea, animal products, fruits, oils, cereals, spices and condiments that are frequently unique to a specific region of China.

The authors conclude that - compared to other food authenticity and traceability techniques - IRMS has been successfully used to characterize, classify and identify many Chinese food products, reducing fraud and food safety problems and improving consumer trust and confidence.  

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A volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis method has been developed to distinguish human remains from animal species in forensic cases and to identify the species of remains after disaster accidents. 

Seven animal species, plus human, were investigated.  Some VOCs had high species specificity, demonstrating that all tested muscle tissue samples could be distinguished based on different VOCs.  HS-GC-IMS proved to be a rapid, high-throughput, high-sensitivity and specific species identification method.  The authors propose that the technique could also be applied to food authenticity testing to verify meat species.

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Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

JRC has published its monthly summary on articles covering food fraud and adulteration. In this July issue, there are articles on frauds involving:

• alcoholic beverages
• seafood
• milk
• fruits and vegetables
• cereals
• soybean
• meat
• live animals
• herbs and spices
• olive oil
• tea
• ice creams
• non-alcoholic beverages
• sugar
• honey
• wine
• seeds.

Read the full summary at: July 2022 JRC Food Fraud Summary

The Government Chemist plays a crucial role in the UK’s food and feed system in both its statutory and advisory capacities.

The data we get is vital for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to demonstrate the social, economic and industrial impact of the Government Chemist.

So if you have used the services of the Government Chemist (anything from Referee Analysis (food safety, food authenticity,advice etc.), Advice, Training materials, Publications, Events, Attendance at meetings etc.), please complete a short (10 mins max) impact evaluation survey: https://tinyurl.com/4737nv42

Thank you to all those people who have already completed the survey and thanks in advance to anyone that will complete the survey now. We really appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback.

An e-seminar covering issues surrounding the use of CBD in food supplements and difficulties likely to be encountered in their analytical testing has been published.

It aims to help manufacturers, suppliers and laboratories understand the issues surrounding the use of cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, in food supplements and the difficulties likely to be encountered in testing food supplements containing CBD. The manufacture and supply of food supplements are strictly controlled under food laws, it is therefore important to understand what CBD is and how it is regulated in food products. This presentation focuses on CBD, its chemistry in relation to food supplements and regulatory legislation, as well as considering the analytical aspects of measuring CBD in food supplements.

The e-seminar is intended for individuals working in official control laboratories, the food industry and those involved with the UK official control system.

The production of this e-seminar was co-funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, BEIS via the Government Chemist, under the Joint Knowledge Transfer Framework for Food Standards and Food Safety Analysis.

This e-seminar has also been added to the Food Authenticity Network's Training Section, where 12 other authenticity related e-seminars are available.

An article published in the I online newspaper reports on the ongoing risk of herbs and spices adulteration.  

Investigators and analysts have told i that the $20bn (£17bn) global herbs and spices industry is being increasingly targeted by organised crime gangs and fraudsters determined to use disruptions to global supply chains, caused by factors from Brexit to Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, to cash in with fake, adulterated or contaminated products.

This article reviews recent surveillance findings, common adulterants, detection methods and includes comments from the National Food Crime Unit and the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit.

Read full article

Photo by Andrea Leon on Unsplash

Here, a biomarker-free detection assay was developed using an optical nanosensor array to aid in the food safety of citrus juices.

Researchers have coupled machine learning capability of their computational process named algorithmically guided optical nanosensor selector (AGONS) with the fluorescence data collected using their nanosensor array, in a biomarker-free detection assay, to construct a predictive model for citrus juice authenticity. 

Over 707 measurements of pure and adulterated citrus juices were collected for prediction. Overall, the approach achieved above 90% accuracy on three data sets in discriminating three pure citrus fruit juices, artificially sweetened tangerine juice with various concentrations of corn syrup, and juice-to-juice dilution of orange juice using apple juice. 

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Photo by ABHISHEK HAJARE on Unsplash

 

Telemeres are genetic book-ends that cap the ends of coding sequences within chromosomes.  Their length is chipped away every time DNA replicates.  Telemeric length is an indicator of an animals age but can also be suggestive of stress or environmental conditions. 

An interesting review article has been published that examines telomeric length as potential verification for fish authenticity descriptions such as organic vs conventional rearing or wild-caught vs aquaculture.

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Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash

Europol investigation involving law enforcement authorities from 31 countries (Operation Silver Axe VII) found widespread evidence of counterfeit pesticides on sale in the EU. 

A number of modus operandi were discovered:

1. The import of almost finalised products in containers resembling well-known brands. Once imported, they need only to be labelled before going on the black market.
2. The import of illegal ingredients for the production of pesticides. To lower the chances of detection, the chemicals are only used at the final production stage at the locations where the packaging is also being counterfeited. 
3. The misuse of the parallel trading system, which eases the approval procedures of pesticides sold within the EU. As part of this system, a plant protection product that is authorised in one Member State (Member State of origin) may, subject to granting a parallel trade permit, be introduced, placed on the market or used in another Member State. Some criminals abuse this system by introducing illegally produced plant protection products to a Member State, fraudulently claiming that they have already been approved in a different Member State and thereby removing the need for further approvals.

Counterfeit and substandard formulations not only risk environmental damage and pesticide resistance but can also lead to unexpected chemical residues in food. This is an example of where food fraud impacts food safety.

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