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This is Tenet's quarterly publication (Issue 5), which discusses the various methods of tackling food fraud, from food safety and quality legislation, and consumer protection legislation, to contract law and trade practices. It also examines the importance of auditing your suppliers and look deeper into non-party disclosure and ‘Norwich Pharmacal’ orders.

If you work in the food and drinks industry and take an interest in fraud and financial crime impact in the sector, please take a look at the Secret Ingredient -Issue 5.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has updated its areas of research interest (ARI) to include a focus on food that is healthier and more sustainable.

Herbs and spices are one of the food commodities most susceptible to adulteration and fraud. In this study, 5 fingerprinting techniques - Near Infrared (NIR), Mid-Infrared (MIR), Hyper Spectral Imaging (HSI), Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS), and Proton-transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS), combined with chemometrics, are examined to evaluate their potential to authenticate oregano. In total, 102 oregano samples from one harvest season were analysed for origin and variety assessment, 159 samples for adulteration assessment, and 72 samples for batch-to-batch control. Different chemometric models were applied for adulteration, origin and variety assessment. The best results were for origin assessment, which gave prediction rates of more than 89%. A level of 10% adulteration of oregano with myrtle, sumac, olive and cistus could be detected using HSI, NIR and PTR-TOF-MS.

Read the abstract here

This mini-review examines the use of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomic and lipidomic methodology to determine metabolites and lipids in pork and beef, which combined with chemometric analysis and comparison with lipid and metabolite databases, serve as authenticity markers. Researchers in this field have found combining metabolomic and lipidomic approaches provides a more comprehensive authentication of meat products especially the differentiation between beef and pork. 

Read the full open access paper

Cocoa powder is a widely used food and ingredient, and is vulnerable to adulteration by cheaper ingredients.  A non-targeted metabolomics approach based on the use of reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer (HPLC-HRMS) was developed to carry out the characterisation of cocoa powder samples adulterated at two different levels, with carob flour, soya flour, and chicory. The extraction procedure and chromatographic parameters were optimised to obtain the highest number of molecular markers. After chemometric analysis of the data, 21 and 37 metabolites in positive and negative ionisation modes, respectively, were found as potential authenticity and adulteration markers in the cocoa powder samples and simulated samples of adulterated cocoa powder. Of these, the identity of only 16 compounds in negative mode and 4 in positive mode could be determined, and most of these compounds belong to the groups of flavonoids, fatty acids, terpenoids, and lysophospholipids, which were potential markers for cocoa adulteration.

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This study was carried out in Ghana, which has seen an increase in rice consumption, but also an increase in mislabelling and fraud of rice supplies. A rapid assay was developed using a pocket-sized NIR spectrometer and multivariate data for detecting rice integrity and fraud. A total of 112 rice samples were used in the study, made up of three different categories; 36 samples of the Jasmine variety, 36 samples of the Agra variety, and 40 adulterated Jasmine with Agra (10–40% w/w). It was found that powdered rice samples gave better results than rice grains. Chemometric analysis was used to model the best technique for simultaneous identification and quantification of rice variety integrity and adulteration. Spectral analysis by SD-PLSDA (second derivative - partial least squares discriminant analysis) could identify a variety and adulterated samples at 98% in both training and test sets. For quantification of the level of adulteration, Si-PLS (synergy interval - partial least squares) was a promising tool with R² = 0.94 in both the training and testing sets. However, the authors of the study note that further investigation will be needed to establish whether satisfactory authentication of rice is possible for a wider population of rice samples.

Read the full open access paper

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.

Read abstract.

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.

Read full article.

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.

Access paper. 

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