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The second Network Newsletter has been sent to everyone registered on the Network. If you had any difficulties receiving it or have any questions on the articles please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mark Woolfe
Network Secretary
Florida growers are battling Huanglongbing, also known as greening disease, a bacterial disease that is not harmful to humans or animals but kills citrus trees. Citrus greening has affected more than 75 percent of Florida citrus crops and threatens production all across the United States,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
Read the full article at: http://protectingyourpocket.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/02/19/no-cure-citrus-greening-continues-to-decimate-florida-citrus/
Italian Agriculture Cooperative, Coldiretti says that the Italian Mafia has managed to infiltrate the agriculture and food industry in the country, earning more than €16 billion in 2015. A study published by Coldiretti, as well as Euripes and the Observatory for Agri-food Crime, reveals that organised criminal groups are exploiting ongoing economic difficulties in the country to take control of agricultural land and enterprises. Organised crime gangs profit in various ways, from counterfeiting recognized products such as olive oil and mozzarella cheese, to the theft of entire herds of animals.
Read more at: http://www.esmmagazine.com/italian-mafia-said-to-earn-over-e16-billion-from-italian-food-sector/24581
This study shows the spatial variability in δ13C and δ18O of 387 samples of Italian extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) collected from 2009 to 2011. EVOOs’ δ13C and δ18O values were related to GIS (Geographic Information System) layers of source water δ18O and climate data (mean monthly temperature and precipitation, altitude, xerothermic index) to evaluate the impact of the most significant large-scale drivers for the isotopic composition of Italian EVOOs.
The paper can be found in: Food Chemistry Volume 202, 1 July 2016, Pages 291–301
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814616301467
Tests by the Food and Drug Administration have shown branded grated Parmesan under the 100 percent label are routinely being made with cut-rate substitutes such as cheaper cheeses - cheddar, Swiss and mozzarella, as well as wood pulp. Bloomberg TV Company also carried out their own tests on national brands. FDA are prosecuting Castle Cheese Inc, which supplies big grocery chains, for producing “false” Parmesan for almost 30 years. The company's President faces a year in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty.
Read more at: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/02/fda-says-parmesan-fraud-could-leave-you-eating-woo.html
and - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood
A new book by Prof Richard Evershed and Nicola Temple entitled "Sorting the Beef from the Bull" is a collection of food fraud tales from around the world. It explains the role of science in uncovering some of the century's biggest food scams, and explores the arms race between food forensics and fraudsters as new methods of detection spur more creative and sophisticated means of committing the crimes. This book equips us with the knowledge of what is possible in the world of food fraud and shines a light on the shady areas of our food supply system where these criminals lurk.
A short article on the book can be found at: http://www.newfoodmagazine.com/22494/blogs/sorting-the-beef-from-the-bull/
Details of contents etc: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sorting-the-beef-from-the-bull-9781472911339/
Mars is collaborating with IBM in the US to track its raw material microbiome along the food supply chain to use it as a marker for traceability, authenticity, safety and even freshness.
Read the full article at: http://fortune.com/2016/01/27/ibm-mars-food-safety-big-data/
This paper reports a survey in 37 restaurants in a SE USA city analysing 47 fish dishes on the use of Pangasius, a Vietnamese catfish. Twenty seven percent of declared American catfish dishes, 22% of grouper dishes, and 67% of dishes using just the description "fish" were substituted with Pangasius.This indicated the widespread use of Pangasius in restaurant catering either for economic and/or fraudulent reasons.
Read the abstract at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713516300172
SSAFE-Food, PwC and Wageningen University have developed a free on-line tool to help companies assess their food vulnerabilities in their supply chains.
More information and download of the tool in different formats at: http://www.ssafe-food.org/our-projects/ or http://www.pwc.com/foodfraud
Saffron (Crocus sativus) is the most expensive spice in the world. As a consequence, saffron has frequently been associated with an unrivalled degree of adulteration. The aim of this work was searching for DNA-barcode candidates as molecular markers to differentiate C. sativus from allied species and assessing the authenticity of saffron. A real-time PCR assay combined with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis was carried out in order to discriminate different Crocus spp., being further confirmed by sequencing.
Abstract of this research paper can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713516300093
A study published in Ecological Applications, shows that a surge in pesticide usage has had an unusual effect on disease control in China's crops. While helping to eliminate much of a one of the top 100 invasive species, a pest known as the whitefly, it appears to actually have driven the growth of a different subtype of the same species. This now-booming subtype of whitefly is an enormous plant disease carrier—and as of 2012, it had become dominant in all but two of the 28 provinces and territories examined.
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113411635/overuse-of-pesticides-is-devastating-chinas-crops-study-says-122315/#OJzKcQhf25GwFGEH.99
Study reported in Environmental Applications: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/14-0752.1/full
In Italy, Bill Whitaker a reporter from CBS News in the USA finds out that the long arms of the Mafia extend to agricultural products, especially olive oil, on which the mob makes huge profits by exporting imitations.
Read full article and video interview at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-agromafia-food-fraud/
The project team (Selvarani Elahi, Steve Ellison and myself) would like to wish all our members a happy New Year, and hope 2016 is a healthy and successful year for you all. We would like to thank you for signing up as members of the website, and would like to encourage you to take advantage of the website to answer your queries on food authenticity. In the coming year, we will be expanding the standard operating protocols (SOP) section to give direct access to agreed food authenticity SOPs. Also, we hope the laboratories applying to become Centres of Expertise will increase. The Network has been funded by Defra to help you, so please use it.
Defra have approved the listing of 13 Centres of Expertise in Food Authenticity testing. Centres of Expertise are designated by self-declaration assessed against criteria set by the Authenticity Methods Working Group. Further information can be found at the links below:
