This article, by one of our Food Authenticity Centres of Expertise, summaries the potential problems to the food supply chain to Western Europe as a result of the war in Ukraine, and in particular, the effects of exports from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine is a major exporter of cereals especially wheat, sunflower oil, soyabean oil, soyabeans and soyabean cake, honey and dried pulses and legumes.
Russia is a major exporter of fish, cereals, sunflower oil and poultrymeat.
An assessment of impact and risks is given by commodity type.
The FSA has issued a final call for evidence linking products to applications on the public list. The CBD public list shows which products have a credible application for authorisation with the FSA.
Businesses have until 26 May 2022 to submit evidence that their products are linked to a credible application and were on the market before February 2020.
This newsletter is intended to keep you informed of what the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) believe to be the current issues that are affecting the food industry. It aims to improve awareness of significant or new trends in the food industry in order to strengthen the overall response to food crime.
The newsletter is available to FoodAuthenticity members by kind permission of the FSA National Food Crime Unit, but is not intended for onward dissemination. Please contact the NFCU Outreach Team if you would like others to receive this newsletter at: NFCU.Outreach@food.gov.uk.
As part of its mission to tackle the plastic pollution challenge and help advance a world where no plastic ends up in nature, The Consumer Goods Forum's (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition of Action (the Coalition) is pleased to announce the publication of a Vision and Principles Paper, entitled "Chemical Recycling in a Circular Economy for Plastics" which encourages the development of new plastics recycling technologies that meet six key principles for credible, safe and environmentally sound development.
In support of this position paper, the Coalition has also published a new independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, that demonstrates that the chemical recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic waste could reduce the climate impact of plastic when compared to waste-to-energy incineration.
In response to many questions posted in the chat of the Webinar on the Global Honey Supply Chain that took place on 19 January 2022, the page on the Government Chemist website has been updated with work in progress on honey authenticity:
"This webinar and the consequent e-seminar is part of a suite of activities Defra, FSA, FSS and the Government Chemist are jointly working on to address some of the underpinning scientific issues that have emerged on the subject of honey testing and a number of workstreams are in progress.
Two further e-seminars, which will assist in disseminating information on honey authenticity testing, are in production. These cover using NMR testing for the determination of exogenous sugars in honey and best practice in establishing and curating databases for food authenticity. Work is also underway to develop guidance on applying a weight of evidence approach for food authenticity analysis, to pilot accreditation of non-targeted authenticity testing methods, to improve consistency and confidence in testing and reporting and to explore a data trust framework to share information on the honey supply chain and testing between interested communities. This will be followed by activity to standardise a protocol for the collection of authentic honey samples and to establish a framework for the scrutiny of authenticity databases. We are collaborating with key stakeholders on all these initiatives to secure the best outcome for all.
FSA’s blog on the complexities of honey authenticity, includes links to the recently published Government Chemist independent review of methods for honey authenticity testing and of the analytical reports underpinning recent allegations of honey fraud."
This e-seminar, by Cathal Henigan, Purchasing Director at Valeo Foods UK, will provide an introduction to the subject of the global honey supply chain.
Topics covered in this short presentation include an overview of the role of beekeeping, honey extraction and honey processing. In addition, key aspects of relevant legislation are described, such as the control of pests and diseases, honey composition, and control of the export and sale of honey. Details of the global market for honey are also described as well as an assessment of the risk to the supply chain through criminal activities such as food fraud.
The e-seminar is intended for individuals currently working within the food testing arena, 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, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 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.
The e-seminar provides guidance and best practice on establishing an in-house NGS capability, including Instrument selection and placement, supporting equipment, and staffing requirements. The e-seminar also considers other factors in setting up an NGS facility, such as the need for adequate data storage and data streaming capabilities.
The information presented will equip the viewer with the necessary knowledge and skills to broaden their scope of food safety, authenticity, and quality testing, and is essential viewing for any molecular biologist working in the area of foods analysis, who is considering extending their knowledge into this technique.
The e-seminar is intended for individuals currently working within the food allergens testing arena, 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, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, 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.
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published its March 2022 Food Fraud Monthly Summary reporting food fraud incidents and investigations from around the world.
This study aimed to construct a two-tube hexaplex PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay to authenticate twelve meat species. Primers were specifically designed to identify the target 12 species - horse, pigeon, camel, rabbit, ostrich, beef, as well as turkey, dog, chicken, duck, cat, and goose, and no untargeted primers were used. The assay was found to be specific, sensitive and reproducible. The assay was also tested on DNA extracted from meat which had been boiled or microwave-cooked, and was still able to identify the meat species. The proof of principle to identify many species simultaneously has been shown in this study, and could be adapted to cover different or less/more species.
Consumption of chia, flax and seame seeds has increased because of their nutritional and functional properties. An untargeted metabolomics approach was used in this study with H/D NMR, compared to previous mass spectrometry based targeted approaches. Three groups of metabolites - polyphenol based caffeoyl derivatives and lignans, and cyanogenic glycosides were identified in the 3 seeds, and seven authenticity markers (polyphenol based and cyanogenic glycosides) were able to distinguish between the 3 types of raw seeds. The authenticity markers in sesame seeds were validated by combining different concentrations in cookies and baking them. Two of the markers were unchanged by the baking process and regarded as good indicators of sesame seed authenticity in baked products.
An investigation, conducted by the carabinieri of the Nas of Ancona and coordinated by the magistrates of Ascoli started from a report of non-compliance of the milk carried out by the expert who has been working in the field of the milk industry for years as a quality "controller". The tanker involved had a double bottom that was invisible to the human eye and could be operated by the haulier who presses that button at the most appropriate time to bypass any checks and carry out his plan: mix milk with water.
For the leaders of Trevalli the fact was considered as "isolated" and immediately denounced. But according to the expert, it should be seen as a "system" as it is "unthinkable" that a similar investment, with the transformation of the vehicle into a complex system of retractable hatches, is made by the individual haulier without periodic gain.
Posted by Mark Woolfe on April 12, 2022 at 12:12pm
Spanish police have made 11 arrests in 3 businesses for fraudulently selling powdered gardenia extract as saffron. This was regarded as a sophisticated fraud as the fraudsters managed to reduce the concentration of the authenticity marker for gardenia (geniposide) to very low levels, so that it was undetectable. The fraudster were thought have made at least Euros 3 million from the substituted saffron.
Posted by Mark Woolfe on April 12, 2022 at 11:14am
CRC Press has published a book entitled "The Authenticity of Foods of Plant Origin". The 13 chapters cover a wide range of plant foods including tomato, rice, banana, wheat, maize, GMO's, wine and olive oil, as well as covering traceability, legislation, and trends to improve authenticity and traceability. The book is available as both a hard back and ebook.
FDF has updated the ‘Product Labelling Requirements’ section of its Ukraine webpage as follows:
"80% of global sunflower oil exports originate from Ukraine or Russia and many manufacturers will need to switch to alternative vegetable oils and certain other ingredients (e.g. emulsifiers). This has implications for information included on product labels. Based on our initial work with Government, pragmatic enforcement has now been advised in order to help minimise any supply disruptions. This includes a specific derogation for the substitution of sunflower oil with refined rapeseed oil. The FDF are in ongoing discussions to broaden out this derogation to other ingredients. Companies are strongly advised to have conversations with their Local/Primary Authorities for these case by case and temporary enforcement flexibilities to be permitted."
The Food Security page on the Food Authenticity Network has also been updated accordingly.
Food fraud has beset governments for centuries, and the legal responses to it have been uniquely suited to the sensibilities of the time.
This publication follows the concept of food fraud described to occur when a fraudster intentionally deceives a customer about the quality and/or contents of the foods they wish to purchase, and such act is done to obtain an undue advantage, most often economic, for the fraudster.
The vastness and complexity of food fraud, and the versatility in regulatory approaches can challenge national governments in their attempts to develop a coherent, focused approach to food fraud. To respond to this challenge, this paper introduces the available international regulatory guidance and the potential legal strategies at the national and regional level. It identifies and analyses some of the regulatory approaches to food fraud that countries have chosen and pays attention to the role of the private sector in food fraud regulation.
Dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt etc) form an important part of the diet, and are a significant part of national and international trade of most countries. This review by Brazilian researchers outlines the frequent forms of food fraud in dairy products and the application of traditional techniques for their detection, highlighting the gaps and disadvantages of these techniques. It then describes the application of NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy and HSI (hyperspectral imaging) for the detection of food fraud mainly in cheese, butter, and yogurt. In conclusion, NIR spectroscopy and HSI are rapid non-destructive techniques, which also require chemometric models for their interpretation, but have been successfully applied to the authentication of dairy products.
Seafood has been identified as one of the foods vulnerable to mislabelling and fraud. In addition, Singapore has a high consumption of seafood (average 22kg/per capita/year). Researchers at the National University of Singapore conducted a survey to verify the labelling/description of seafood species. Eighty eight samples were collected from retail outlets and restaurants. Using mitochondrial DNA barcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase Subunit-I to identify seafood species, 42 different species were identified. In total, 26% (23) of the samples were mislabelled. The three most frequently mislabelled fish were Anoplopoma fimbria (Sablefish) sold as Black Cod, Dissostichus eleginoides (Patagonian toothfish) sold as Cod or Seabass, and Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Iridescent shark) sold as Dory or Bocourti. Restaurants did not show any evidence of mislabelling, and all the mislabelled samples came from retail outlets.
Metabolic markers are considered as a promising choice for food authentication, but few metabolic markers were available to develop robust analytical methods for food authentication in routine control. Untargeted metabolomics by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is increasingly used to discover new metabolic markers. This review summarises the general workflow, recent applications, advantages, limitations, and future needs of untargeted metabolomics by LC-MS for identifying metabolic markers. It concludes that untargeted metabolomics by LC-MS shows great efficiency to discover the metabolic markers for the authenticity assessment of biological identity, geographical origin, agricultural production, processing technology, freshness, and cause of animals’ death.
In response to requests for information on emerging food security issues from our Members, the Food Authenticity Network Team has created a ‘Food Security Resource Base’ on our website, which signposts stakeholders to third party content on potential / actual disruption to the food and drink supply chain resulting from the current conflict in Ukraine.
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION in the Food Fraud Prevention THINK TANK's latest “Food Fraud 20 Questions” survey on Food Document Fraud – Concerns and Countermeasures.
This is an update of their 2016 survey on the topic and is a 5-10 minute online, confidential, anonymous survey. Please participate or forward it to others as you see fit.
Your involvement will contribute to research and reports that help you reduce your “fraud opportunity.”
The food industry accepts a wide range of documents to confirm the identity and source of products bought and sold. The research project based on this survey begins with an analysis of:
The documents used in food product transactions
The documents that are known or suspected to be fraudulent
Best practices or countermeasures
This “Food Fraud 20 Questions” survey will provide more insight into this emerging and timely subject. Once the project is completed, the free Food Fraud Insight Report (link below) will be updated.
