This project (FA0160) builds on two previous feasibility studies, and develops the principle of using a food microbiome as an authenticity marker for the development of methodology that discriminates provenance on the basis of its microbial fingerprint. It also exploits the latest NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) technology, which permits a large number of microbiological groups to be identified to create the microbial profile. Further details of the project and its results were published in our October 2021 Newsletter. The final report is available on the Defra (Departmnt of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) website, and the link has also been added to the website's list of research reports.
country of origin (3)
Background
Food fraud is the intentional deception carried out for gain, and is growing. Rice is the most used and the staple cereal for more than half of the world. Because of the scale of the global rice industry, the opportunities for fraud are large, of concern and threat to the economies and health of many.
Scope and approach
This review ouylines the complexities of the global rice industry and outlines current frauds. Fraudulent actions can be on many levels such as: botanical and geographical origin, adulteration/substitution, ageing, cultivation practices, aroma/flavour and amounts of microelements. To deal with new rice frauds, the range of techniques to detect them is increasing.
Key findings and conclusions
Current research concerning rice fraud is mainly focussed on rice authenticity testing for botanical/geographical origin or cultivation methods. In the case of Mass Specrometry, more advanced techniques are increasingly applied due to their great untargeted analysis power. Spectroscopic techniques can mainly provide screening, but rapid and non-destructive sample analysis, they are cost effective and once established require little expertise. DNA assays are excellent tools to apply for authenticity testing of botanical origin of rice. There is at present, no single analytical tool capable of providing an answer to all rice authentication problems, thus it is necessary to use several approaches in profiling and identification of possible markers and/or adulterants.
Read full article.
In 2016/7, the DGCCRF( France's anti-fraud Directorate) conducted a large-scale survey to verify the labelling and declaration of the origin of imported wines, particularly from Spain. These controls were carried out across France at producers, importers, traders and distributors premises. A total of 179 establishments were audited in 2016 and 564 in 2017, specifically on the subject of foreign wines. 22% of the establishments visited in 2016 and 15% of the establishments visited in 2017 had labelling non-conformities including deceptive or false information and incorrect origin. While most wines were correctly labelled, there were several cases investigated where 2 - 3.4 million litres of wine (equivalent to 4.6 million bottles) of Spanish wine was sold in bulk labelled as French.
Read the DGCCRF summary (in French) and the BBC article here
