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Undeclared lard in confectionary products is a significant concern for consumers in many parts of the world who avoid pork on religious grounds.

This study (GBP30 download fee) used gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC–FID) to measure fatty acids, then principal component analysis (PCA) to detect porcine fatty acid biomarkers in imported chocolates and biscuits.

The authors report that total fat content ranged from 11.5 to 32.5%, with palm kernel-based chocolates enriched in lauric (42–52%) and myristic acids (18–20%), while other chocolates were dominated by palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids. Biscuits contained high proportions of palmitic and oleic acids (> 75%).

PCA of the complete fatty acid dataset separated lard-adulterated samples.. Targeted PCA using porcine biomarkers palmitic-to-oleic acid ratio and eicosadienoic acid confirmed this clustering.

Calibration using simulated lard–palm oil mixtures (0–15% w/w; five replicates per level) enabled quantitative estimation of lard .

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

The use of toxic testile dyes, such as the Sudan Red group, to adulterate food has been a high risk alert since the early 2000’s.  Over the past few years there have been persistent reported incidents with no apparent decline.  Original watch-outs were red spices and sauces, but more recently the focus has been on the adulteration of cheaper vegetable oils with red dye to pass them off as palm oil.  Palm oil from West Africa has been particularly implicated.

A recent media report from Ghana suggests that – far from improving – the problem is increasing in the case of palm oil on the local market.

Sudan Red dyes are classified as a Group 3 human carcinogen by the IARC and their widespread use in food is an obvious health concern for the local population.  For companies importing palm oil from countries where adulteration is endemic within the local market then traceability becomes key; being sure that your own stock comes from plantations and refineries with good and trusted oversight and has not been substituted for cheaper (adulterated) oil.  It is relatively easy to test for Sudan dyes, and periodic analysis is always a good way to check that assumptions about strong traceability are correct.

Photo by IKRAM ULLAH on Unsplash