WHAT WE DO

The Food Authenticity Network was set-up in July 2015 by LGC with funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as a direct response to Recommendation 4 of the Elliott Review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply[1], which highlighted the need for standardised testing approaches.

The Food Authenticity Network was set-up to raise awareness of the tools available to check for mislabelling and food fraud and to ensure that the UK has access to a resilient network of laboratories providing fit for purpose testing to check for food authenticity so consumers can have confidence in the food they buy.

Today, the Food Authenticity Network is led by LGC and is funded using a public - private partnership approach and helps to build more resilient global food supply chains as it gathers information on food authenticity testing, food fraud mitigation and food supply chain integrity, in a structured manner and disseminates it via its open access website. This enables best practice information to be shared for the benefit of all stakeholders, helping to raise standards worldwide. 

The Food Authenticity Network is a one-stop-shop for anyone involved in food authenticity testing, food fraud prevention and supply chain integrity, and as such, will be of interest to scientists, the food industry, government, academia, enforcers and consumers alike. With all the relevant material together in one place it is much easier to access curated information and disseminate it to the community whilst also helping facilitate communication and understanding between those working in the area through the discussion fora.   

In 2023, over 43,400 unique users from 166 different countries accessed the website

The Network is led by Selvarani Elahi (Executive Director), the Deputy Government Chemist at LGC, and John Points, an experienced consultant in the food authenticity testing area, is the Secretary.

An independent Advisory Board advises on the work of the Food Authenticity Network.