Archived FSA Projects in the Q01 Food Authenticity series have moved from Europarchive to the National Archives. This meant that all our links for Q01 research project reports and SOPs contained in these reports have had to be changed. We apologise if anyone trying to access these reports or SOPs were unable to do so, but the links are now working.

Member States and the Commission have agreed a raft of measures to reinforce action following the fipronil scandal including the possible creation of  a Food Safety Officer in each country. Fipronil an insecticide used to control cockroaches, fleas and ants, but is illegal for animals intended for the food chain.  It was found on Dutch and Belgian farms and 26 Member States and 23 other countries have been affected by its contamination in eggs and egg products. The Commission stressed that this was not a food safety problem but one of food fraud.

Read the article at: Action after fipronil incident

This academic paper presents a conceptual and analytical framework for preventing food fraud informed by a situational understanding of the nature of the activities and behaviours involved in the fraud. By integrating models of enterprise with models of in-place preventative action, we can gain a fuller theoretical account of food frauds and how we can prevent them. The paper uses various olive oil fraud investigations to develop its arguments.

Read the full paper at: In Pursuit of Food System Integrity

M&S, Aldi and Lidl have suspended buying chicken from the 2 Sisters Food Group’s West Bromwich plant following a Guardian and ITV News investigation that it had changed slaughter dates, durability dates and even the origin of chicken. M&S and the FSA are conducting their own investigations after the revelations.

Thai researchers have successfully developed and validated a triplex direct-PCR assay with capillary electrophoresis detection to identify the three common milk species: cow (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus). The assay amplified mitochondrial COI and cyt b genes and generated PCR products of 93, 173 and 231 bp for cow, sheep and goat, respectively. It was highly reproducible, specific to target species, sensitive, and showed 100% identification accuracy. Additionally, it was applicable to milk and dairy product samples.

Read the abstract at: Species identification in milk

German researchers have developed a rapid method of authentication using a mini-mass spectrometer, ambient ionisation,and mass spectrometric data statistical analysis, which shows proof of principle and great promise for on-site real-time food authentication. The laboratory built system was tested on 3 milk types, 5 fish species and 2 coffee bean types. Analysis time to run samples and reference data sets was a matter of seconds, and 100% classification accuracy was achieved for the differentiation of milk types and fish species, and 96.4% was achieved for coffee types in cross-validation experiments. Measurement of two milk mixtures yielded correct classification of >94%.

Read the abstract at: Mini MS authentication

Figures published by the FSA show that whereas there was an increase in food hygiene interventions by local authorities in 2016/17 because of an increase in hygiene complaints, planned food standards interventions, which include authenticity and fraud, were down 4% on previous years. The FSA will use this enforcement data, along with other intelligence, to identify and target underperforming local authorities in order to secure improvements or tackle any particular problems they may have.

Read the FSA official statistics at: FSA Enforcement Statistics 2016/17

Greek researchers have developed a method to distinguish wild rabbit, which normally has a higher commercial value, from non-wild (farmed) rabbit using an elemental metabolic approach. Using ICP-MS to measure rare earth signatures, it was possible to distinguish between wild rabbit and non-wild rabbit.

Read the abstract at: Wild rabbit authentication

This post-graduate course is the result of a partnership between the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen's University Belfast and multinational analytical laboratory instrument and software company Waters Corporation. It offers professionals the chance to learn remotely on a part-time basis from renowned experts to increase their knowledge of the threats to feed and food compromising food security, and also about the techniques and methods which can be used to confirm food safety and integrity. Topics include concerns around food fraud, authenticity and traceability, the links between chemical contaminants and human and animal health, the biological hazards and threats posed by animal feed and food, the various technologies used to enable rapid and early detection of food safety issues, and the current and future global food legislation needed to ensure and maintain sustainable food safety production. The course is currently accepting applications for October 2017 and February 2018 start dates.

Read the article and see a video at: On-line Masters in Food Fraud

Sea-Pac owner Alistair Thompson, 70, from Lonmay, Aberdeenshire, admitted fraud at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, and has been prosecuted and given the maximum number of unpaid community hours. He arranged for Shetland Products and Fraserburgh Freezing and Cold Storage labels to go on salmon, because they were approved for export to Russia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Read the article at: Sea-Pac Fish Fraud

Fake" olive oil is on its way to British supermarket shelves, experts have suggested, as large quantities of low quality produce are being produced in Italy. The surge of fake oil is anticipated as the production costs of olive oil have rocketed by up to 40 per cent as a result of poor 2016 harvests, the falling pound, and supermarket pricing.

Read the article at: Fake Olive Oil

Researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid  have developed an electrochemical biosensor, which is able to recognise a DNA fragment virtually unchanged in the more than 4,500 mitochondrial genomes of horses sequenced, and absent in the rest of mammalian species. This biosensor is capable of discriminating in only one hour, and with statistically significant differences between beef unadulterated and adulterated with only 0.5% (w/w) of horsemeat.

Read the article at: Biosensor for horsemeat 

The European Commission has called on the UK to guarantee the protected status of food products that have been registered with the EU’s geographical indications (GIs) after Brexit.

Read the article at: GIs post-Brexit

Polish researchers have identified unique heat stable peptide markers from soya, cow's milk and egg white using trypsin hydrolysis and LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The source of the peptides were main allergenic proteins, namely soya glycinin and β-conglycinin, milk α-S1-casein and the whey protein β-lactoglobulin, as well as egg white ovotransferrin and lysozyme C. These peptides were able to detect undeclared ingredients in poultry products such as sausages, frankfurters and sausages, as an alternative method to ELISA or PCR-DNA methods. This method would be useful for both allergen detection and food authenticity.

Read the full paper at: Peptide markers for soya, milk and egg   

This article discusses the results of the JRC survey on honey in 2016. It also looks at the effect of the increasing imports of honey from China on European honey production.

Read the full article at: Fake Honey

NFU Mutual’s Food Fraud Report 2017, published on 7 September, reveals that takeaways are the least trusted type of food outlet (42%) followed by online (21%) and convenience stores (16%). The new research by the hospitality business insurer reveals that only 12% of people have confidence in the European food chain and just 7% in the global chain. Almost three quarters (72%) believe there to be an issue with food fraud in the UK, with over a quarter also believing that they have personally experienced it (27%).

Read the articles at: NFU Mutual Consumer Survey, NFU Consumer Survey on Food Fraud 2

China's food industry has demonstrated a sustained growth trend since the 1980s; however, the years between 1980 and 2012 witnessed a worrisome food integrity situation. In recent years, the situation is improving after the Chinese government's implementation of food safety regulations. This paper analyses the national food spot check data in 2016 in order to understand the current status of food integrity in China.  The data covers almost all kinds of food in the market, and it reveals that overuse of food additives, microbial contamination and subpar food quality indicators are the top three factors limiting food integrity. The illegal use of sweeteners, colourants and sulphites are also regarded as food authenticity problems.  Additionally, the paper discusses other challenges that affect food integrity in China, and we make suggestions for improving food integrity.

Read the full paper at: Study on Spot Check Data in China

The ability to detect the undeclared addition of a juice of lesser economic value to one of higher value (juice-to-juice debasing) is a particular concern between apple and pear juices due to similarities in their major carbohydrate/polyol profiles. Individual unique fingerprint phenolics have been identified in apple juice and pear juice, and an additional plant hormone compound (absisic acid) identified in pear juice. Additionally, the HPLC-PDA (high performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector) profile of pear juices in combination with pear fingerprint compounds including arbutin could be used to identify samples originating from China versus those from other geographical locations.

Read the abstract at: Markers in Pear and Apple Juice

This book covers the science of stable isotope measurement, sample preparation and testing of biological and geological elements. It also covers using isotopes for verification of origin and authenticity of plant based foods, fruits and vegetables, flesh foods, dairy products, vegetable oils, organic foods, alcoholic beverages, and some other miscellaneous foods. It brings the reader up to date with the latest developments in this area.

The contents and first couple of chapters can be found at: Food Forensics: Stable Isotopes as a Guide to Authenticity and Origin

The potential adulteration of kid or lamb rennet with calf rennet is of interest for some PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheeses producers and those looking for a specific cheese authenticity. The researchers developed an immunoassay (indirect ELISA), and used a monoclonal antibody (mAb) raised against bovine pepsin. This mAb was found to be specific neither  cross-reacting with the pepsin of other animal species (kid, lamb, pig) nor with other milk-clotting enzymes (chymosin and microbial enzymes). Using prepared test samples of kid and lamb rennets spiked with a wide range of calf rennet (from 0 to 100% v/v), the presence of bovine pepsin was detected at low levels down to 6 mg/L in kid and lamb rennets, with a good linear relationship in the range 1.25–120 mg/L.

Read the abstract at: ELISA for bovine rennet adulteration