News

In a ruling on 1 October, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) stated that the EU harmonised regulation for food labelling “does not preclude member states (MSs) from adopting measures providing for additional mandatory particulars regarding the origin or provenance.” However, the ECJ added that those national measures need to be justified on one or several grounds, including the protection of public health and prevention of food fraud. The adoption of mandatory origin labelling is possible only if there is a “proven link between certain qualities of the food concerned and their origin of provenance.”  The onus is on MSs to provide evidence that the majority of consumers attach significant value to the provision of that information.  The case had been brought to the ECJ by the French Government on the case lodged by the company Groupe Lactalis, which sought the annulment of a governmental decree requiring the labelling of the French, European or non-European origin of milk and milk used as an ingredient in pre-packaged foods.

Read the article here

Fish species substitution is a major global fraud problem. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is widely appreciated, especially smoked or as fillets, and is a high value  fish in many export markets, and thus vulnerable to substitution. Chinese researchers have developed a real-time DNA assay based on isothermal  amplification (LAMP-real time fluorescence loop-mediated isothermal amplification) of a specific section of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, which is sensitive, and more rapid than normal PCR thermocycling. The assay was specific to Atlantic salmon without any cross-reactivity with 11 non-targeted salmonoid species. It was tested on 30 commercial salmon products collected in local markets in Nanjing, and only six were found to contain Atlantic salmon.

Read the full paper

 FSAI's annual report covers enforcement, inspections, sampling, recalls, Brexit, and food fraud. On its 2019 food fraud activities, the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) dealt with 3,997 events, of these just 34 were notified by Ireland. Some 21 notifications were about food which had originated in Ireland, and 13 were related to foods in distribution in the country. During 2019, authorised officers from the FSAI, other state regulatory authorities, and official agencies conducted 52 investigations where breaches of food law and food fraud were suspected. Ireland published four cases relating to alcohol, beef, and fish in the European Commission’s Administrative Assistance and Cooperation/Food Fraud Network database. Eleven EU AAC FFN notifications were processed. Returns submitted by Ireland to Europol as part of Operation Opson included seizures of food of animal origin such as meat and dairy, and alcohol.

Read the article or FSAI's 2019 Annual Report

Researchers at Queens University Belfast’s Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) were called in to support an investigation after a major food-poisoning incident in Uganda in March 2019, which killed five people and saw hundreds hospitalised. The incident was linked to a specialist nutritious food - Super Cereal, a fortified wheat and soya product supplied under the World Food Programme (WFP) to around 5 million people every year. The supply to affected area was suspended pending the investigation. The DNA of jimsonweed, a plant in the nightshade family, was found which corroborated the presence of high levels of tropane alkaloids in the suspended batches of Super Cereal. However, a second outbreak occurred in a refugee camp in the North of Uganda, where the Super Cereal going into this region was from a completely different supply chain. So the WFP had to take the decision to suspend all supplies of Super Cereal. The QUB team, however, suspected that some form of fraud had occurred, and were able to show that both outbreaks were caused by contaminated ingredients from the same batches produced in Turkey.

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In some countries, honey from native, non-domesticated species, such as Asian Apis dorsata and Apis cerana commands a much higher price than honey from the colonies of the domesticated honeybee Apis mellifera, and therefore is more vulnerable to fraud. Slovenian researchers have developed DNA  markers from a single copy ANT (adenine nucleotide translocase) gene using exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) primers and a double restriction protocol to obtain sequence information, which can identify the three bee species in honey. The method was developed using small extracts from 25 honeybee tissue samples and 21 honeybee products, and can be used for other bee products such as royal jelly.

Read the article or the full scientific paper

Food Standards Scotland’s Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) have highlighted four sectors as priorities, which have been targeted and continue to be targeted by criminals committing food fraud:-

- Red meat: fraudulently tagged livestock, stolen livestock, illegal slaughter and substitution of product, false declaration of origin or durability date.

- Fish: substitution by cheaper species or lower quality fish, misdescription of origin especially for salmon, import of illegally treated tuna, fraudulent use of official certification in UK, and impact of Brexit on Scottish supply chain.

- Shellfish: illegally harvested shellfish, misrepresentation of quality and origin of shellfish, falsification of registration and landing documents, and   use of modern slavery and exploitation for harvesting shellfish.

- Alcoholic drinks: counterfeit branded spirits and wine, import or smuggling of fake vodka, production of illicit alcohol, and import and use of material and equipment to produce imitation alcohol products.

Read the article here

Olive oil, especially extra virgin oilive oil (EVOO), is highly valued for its organoleptic and nutritional qualities. In this study, more than 200 monovarietal (Koroneiki) EVOO samples were collected from the main Greek olive oil producing regions. They were analysed using Flow Injection Analysis-Magnetic Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FIA-MRMS), which directly injects the oil into the mass spectrometer, to determine a metabolite profile. In parallel, the same oils were analysed using an LC-Orbitrap MS (Liquid Chromatograpy-Mass Spectrometry) platform to verify the efficiency of the method, as well as a tool to increase the identification confidence of the proposed markers.  The results obtained by FIA-MRMS analysis generated improved projection and prediction models in comparison to those of the more established LC-MS methodology. Also with FIA-MRMS, more statistically significant compounds and chemical classes were identified as quality and authenticity markers, which were associated with specific authenticity issues, i.e. geographical region, cultivation practice, and production procedures. 

Read the full paper

Cocoa beans are the raw material for chocolate and chocolate products. There are many authenticity aspects of cocoa in terms of its varietal and geographic origin, and the composition and quality of chocolate, especially substitution of cocoa butter,  that require verification. This review by Spanish researchers gives an  update on the progress toward the authenticity, traceability and sustainability of cocoa products.

Read the full review

Vanilla is a high value flavouring used in ice cream, desserts and confectionery, and mainly grown in Madagascar. Synthetic vanillin and biovanillin (produced by fermentation) are cheaper. By using SIRA (stable isotope ratio analysis) to look at the δ13C, it is possible to distinguish between the three types of vanilla flavouring. The method was tested on market samples of yoghurt and ic cream. Also FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectoscopy with chemometric analysis was calibrated with authentic samples of black pepper so that it was possible to detect the adulteration of ground black pepper with black pepper husk and defatted spent material. The research was undertaken as a Ph.D registered at the Technical University of Denmark, but carried out at the Danish National Food Institute and IGFS - Queens University Belfast.  

Read the article or the Ph.D thesis 

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is proposing additional record keeping requirements for a list of "high risk" foods under the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which is intended to make it easier to rapidly and effectively track the movement of a food to prevent or mitigate a foodborne illness outbreak. The Food Traceability List (FTL) identifies the foods which would be covered by the new rule. The additional recordkeeping requirements would apply not only to foods specifically listed on the FTL, but also to foods that contain foods on the list as ingredients.

Read the FDA's Proposal here

Mooncakes are a traditional Chinese bakery product eaten during the moon watching Autumn Festival. Chinese police have arrested 40 people suspected of producing and selling fake mooncakes of a well known Hong Kong brand. The investigation started when it was discovered that this brand of mooncakes were being sold 50-70% cheaper on-line. This eventually led them to a production line in Zhangzhou, which employed 100 people producing the fake mooncakes 24/7, where over 12,000 boxes of the fakes were seized. Police said the authentic counterparts of the seized mooncakes are worth over 30 million yuan (US$4.4 million). The investigation is still on-going.

Read the article here

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) publishes a monthly Food Fraud Summary summarising food fraud incidents and investigations from around the world. The September 2020 Summary has just been published. In particular, a large scale horse and donkey meat fraud has been investigated in Colombia, where horses and donkeys, often sick animals, were slaughtered and adulterated with chemicals, and sold as beef for school meals. The fraud took place between May 2018 and September 2019, and involved 2-2.5 tonnes of meat each week.

Read the monthly summary here

To register email Secretariat@cams-uk.co.uk

 Registration is now open for a free online conference, run in partnership between the UK Food Standards Agency and the University of Sheffield, on Monday 9 November 2020 as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

The COVID 19 outbreak has necessitated a move away from more traditional data collection methods and accelerated the innovative use of digital data. In partnership with the University of Sheffield, this virtual half-day event will demonstrate how digital data collection and analysis can inform our understanding of food, and outline key findings related to the digitalisation of food behaviours.  

It will cover the recent review of the FSA flagship survey, Food and You, digital self-report methods on handwashing behaviour and key findings from recent social media analysis, including COVID-19 trends in food behaviour.    

The event offers an excellent opportunity for anyone in the social science community to hear about how social science directly informs real life policy-making in a government context under rapidly changing circumstances. As well as learning about the work and priorities of the FSA and international colleagues, virtual panel sessions will provide an opportunity to discuss ideas with experts from academia, industry and policy.  

To book your place, please register using Eventbrite.  

The UK National Food Crime Unit has launched a new newsletter. 

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 is aimed at all sectors. 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 first edition includes articles on:

• Covid-19
• Theft of Meat
• European Distribution Fraud
  (EDF)
• Food Service Sector
• Cannabis edibles - THC laced sweets
• Shellfish allergy triggered by straws
• Mass culling of birds

If you want to receive copies of the NFCU's Food Crime Newsletters then sign up at NFCU.Outreach@food.gov.uk. or become a Member of the Food Authenticity Network for free and they will be emailed, when available, with our Monthly Highlights Emails.

The Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and Food Standards Scotland’s Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) have published an assessment of food crime threats to the UK.

The Food Crime Strategic Assessment examines areas of the food supply chain which may be vulnerable to food crime, as well identifying emerging threats which need to be addressed. 

The assessment found that most food crime relates to two broad activities – either selling something of little or no value to the food chain as edible and marketable, or selling passable food, drink or feed as a product with greater volume or more desirable attributes. In practice, this could include replacing ingredients with cheaper and inferior materials, falsely extending use-by dates, or deliberately marketing unsafe products as being fit for human consumption. 

The NFCU have identified priority areas of work for this year in their control strategy. These areas include combatting the selling of dangerous non-foods sold for human consumption, preventing illegal shellfish entering the food chain, and increasing understanding of the use of online platforms to facilitate food crime. The Unit will continue its work with local authorities, law enforcement agencies and the food industry to prevent and protect against incidences of food crime and take action when they occur. 

The SSFCIU has also published its Control Strategy 2020/21, which outlines the food crime priorities and actions being taken to prevent food crime, detect and deter criminality and prosecute offenders. The Control Strategy looks to manage the threat of food crime and set out a clear path in what is a complex and challenging area. This strategy is informed by the UK’s Food Crime Strategic Assessment which FSS developed jointly with Food Standards Agency (FSA). This work assessed information and intelligence from a range of sources and was supported by contributions from partner agencies and industry.

Further information can be found here.

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) publishes a monthly Food Fraud Summary summarising food fraud incidents and investiations from around the world. The July-August Summary has now been published. It is a more extended document than usual covering the summer months, and highlights in particular a number of wine counterfeiting investigations in Italy, Spain and Bordeaux wines sold in China.

Stable Isotope Ratio (SIRA) analysis is widely used to investigate different authenticity issues from exogenous sugar adulteration to geographic origin. An international project  has developed, quality-tested, and measured isotope–delta values of 10 new food matrix reference materials (RMs) for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur SIRA measurements. The RMs include (i) two honeys from Canada and tropical Vietnam, (ii) two flours from C3 (rice) and C4 (millet) plants, (iii) four vegetable oils from C3 (olive, peanut) and C4 (corn) plants, and (iv) two collagen powders from marine fish and terrestrial mammal origins. The RMs were collaboratively tested by 8 laboratories to obtain consensus values and measurement uncertainties. These new RMs should facilitate mutual compatibility of stable isotope data if accepted normalisation procedures are applied and documented.

Read the abstract and supporting data here

True cinnamon (Cinnamon verum) is a high value spice only grown in Sri Lanka. It can often be adulterated with the lower priced Cinnamon cassia. This can have food safety implications because Cinnamon cassia contains high levels (1%) of coumarin, whereas true cinnamon has a minimal amount (0.04%) of coumarin. Coumarin is toxic to some animals and certain sensitive humans causing liver and kidney damage. Argentinian researchers have developed a rapid, low cost, non-destructive method based on NIR (Near-infrared diffuse reflectance) spectroscopy and chemometrics to detect the adulteration of true cinnamon.

Read the abstract here