Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on official controls of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules, is under review. Political agreement on a recent draft of 26 September 2016 has been reached, and it should be voted upon by the end of the year and adopted in early 2017. The amended scope of the Regulation and official controls now includes the possible violation of the rules perpetrated through fraudulent or deceptive practices i.e. food fraud. The risk of this occurring should be taken into account by competent authorities when organising and prioritising their national official controls, as well as controls on imported foods. Fraudulent or deceptive practices committed with respect to the marketing standards referred to in Articles 73 to 91 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 are included as well.

Read the full article at:  Fraud Amendment on Food and Feed Controls

Molecular markers provide information on genetic variations and are valuable tools to determine olive oil authenticity. Molecular markers such as SNPs, microsatellites, SCARs and AFLPs have been used for the identification of the varietal origin of olive oils. This paper provides an overview of the current trends and critical issues on DNA-targeted approaches used for traceability and authenticity of olive oil.

Read the abstract at: Review of DNA Methods for Olive Oil Authenticity

The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) has released its latest Scientific Information Bulletin (SIB), which addresses the evolving food industry focus on Food Fraud. The purpose of this IUFoST SIB is to provide an introduction to the issue, a review of incidents, the fundamentals of prevention and insights into the optimal role of food science and technology. The SIB was drafted by John Spink at Michigan State University.

News of the SIB, and a link to download it free is at: IUFOST SIB on food fraud

At a Inner London Court hearing on 26 October, 3 men have been charged with fraud offences of conspiring to sell horsemeat as beef between January and October 2012. Two of the men have pleaded guilty, and will be sentenced after the hearing. The third pleaded not guilty, and will face trial.

Read more about case at:

http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Regulation/Two-plead-guilty-to-conspiracy-in-horsemeat-fraud-scandal?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=28-Oct-2016&c=5Od9IP%2BSSg1236v1AjSvfmIdMHbfHptl&p2=

Researchers at the University of Southampton have derived carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic isoscapes using jellyfish from different locations around the North Sea. These were applied to scallops and herring, enabling 75% of scallops origin to be confirmed within an error of 10 sq.km.  

It was also possible to assign location of migratory fish such as herring with the isoscapes, but with some reduced accuracy. The isotopic method compares favourably with other methods used to determine location of seafood in the North Sea. 

Read the full paper at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12651/full

IFR has developed a rapid multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry method for the detection and relative quantitation of the adulteration of meat with that of an undeclared species is presented. Selected peptide markers derived from myoglobin can be used for species detection, and the ratios of  transition peak areas for corresponding peptides is proposed for relative quantitation. The method has been developed from the myoglobin of four meat species - beef, pork, horse and lamb, and test results are encouraging.

Read the full research paper at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b02318                                                

or read a summary article at: http://www.foodqualitynews.com/R-D/Researchers-target-myoglobin-protein-to-stop-food-fraud

Research by the Dutch Consumers' Association (Consumentenbond) shows that three years after the horse meat affair are still many problems with the authenticity of foodstuffs. The Consumentenbond investigated over 150 sensitive products, and 21% of them were not how they were described. The samples were analysed using the most up to date methods.

The study found problems with the following percentage of samples taken: manuka honey (50% ), lamb (47%), extra virgin olive oil (31% ), oregano (11% ) and cod (3%). 

In the lamb products study, 10 lamb curries, 10 servings of minced lamb and 10 lamb shawarma or kebabs were purchased. 14 of the 30 lamb samples  turned out not to be pure lamb. In 6 samples, there was no lamb found at all, only beef or turkey instead. In 8 other samples there was some lamb, but also at least 40% of other meat.

The report in Dutch can be found at: http://www.consumentenbond.nl/nieuws/2016/gesjoemel-met-voedsel-hardnekkig-probleem

A summary of the article in English can be found at: 

http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Industry-news/Authenticity-deviations-found-in-1-in-5-Dutch-food-samples

Research papers (20 in total) covering a wide range of MS food applications presented at the 4th MS Food Day, held in Italy in October 2015 have been published in a special issue of the J. of MS. The papers are freely available and can be downloaded.

The papers can be found at:  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jms.v51.9/issuetoc

The European Commission has published a Consumer Market Scoreboard in September 2016, which scores consumer assessment of services and goods including food across the EU. Many foods such as non-alcoholic drinks, bread, cereals and pasta in fast moving markets have lost ground to other goods. The meat sector has still not recovered since 2013, and comes just above second hand car sales.

Read the report at:  http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_evidence/consumer_scoreboards/12_edition/index_en.htm

A Llanelli court gave a suspended sentence and a fine of £1080 to Carmelo Gale for the illegal sale of smokies (whole lamb carcases skin-on and blow-torched). Mr Gale had allowed an illegal slaughterhouse to be set up on his property, which had not been registered as a food business and produced food unfit for human consumption.

Read the article at:

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/man-sentenced-for-selling-illegal-meat-and-smokies/story-29529224-detail/story.html

This paper reviews the use of SIRA of biological isotopes (H, C, O, N, S) in determining geographical origin for meat, poultry and dairy products, and production origin for seafood (wild or farmed). 

Read the full paper at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12219/full

A number of cumin products were withdrawn from the market in 2015 with suspected almond adulteration, because of almond's allergenicity. Immunoassay tests were unable to provide unequivocal evidence of the Prunus species present, because of significant cross-reactivity with other species within the Prunus genus.

A novel real-time PCR assay was developed for the specific detection of Prunus mahaleb DNA, a species known to be capable of causing false positives in almond immunoassays. This paper reports the development of the assay and the preliminary results from its application.

The paper is open access and can be downloaded.

Prof Elliott spoke to the Lords EU Committee about the reduction in the number of public analyst laboratories and reduced resources for enforcement officers compared to activities in other Member States. Although the FSA's National Food Crime Unit was welcomed, not one prosecution had been taken compared to 24 major investigations by the Dutch Food Crime Unit, and the seizing of 6.5 million Euros in criminal assets.

Read the article at: http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/horsemeat-type-scandal-could-happen-again.htm

This CBC News item looks at the effect of an increase in global honey production on the Manitoba bee keepers in Canada. The two countries responsible for the increase in honey on the global market are Argentina (selling mainly to the US) and China, which is passing off its honey through several other SE Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. 

Read the article at:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/honey-glut-hurts-manitoba-beekeepers-1.3667741

The programme bought four takeaway meals in Blackpool – and had them tested by Public Analyst Dr Duncan Campbell, West Yorkshire Analytical Services. A researcher bought two curries, a kebab and a pizza. The curries and the kebab were all meant to be lamb – none were. The pizza cheese topping turned out to be 30% fake cheese despite a menu description of “100% mozzarella”.

Read the article at: http://www.itv.com/news/2016-06-23/food-fraud-what-are-we-really-eating-tonight/

The FSA's National Food Crime Unit has launched ‘Food Crime Confidential’ - a reporting facility where food crime can be reported safely and in confidence, over the phone and through email.

Read the Press Release at: https://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2016/15226/food-crime-confidential-launch

There has been increasing demand for Robusta coffee in developing and producing countries. Drier weather in Brazil and Vietnam- 2 major producers of Robusta coffee coupled with poorer harvests in Indonesia and India will give a lower production. Adulteration of Robusta coffee extracts have been a problem in the past.

Read the article at: http://agro2b.ru/en/news/32683-Expectations-poor-harvest-Robusta-coffee-can.html

An article describing the background to the launch of the Network and its objectives via the www.foodauthenticity.uk website has been published in Food Science and Technology Volume 30 Issue 2.

Read the article at:  http://www.fstjournal.org/features/30-2/food-authenticity-network

An industry best practice guide on assessing and protecting the authenticity of herbs and spices was launched by FDF in June 2016. The guide was developed by the FDF, BRC and Seasoning and Spice Association(SSA) in liaison with the FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

The FDF Press Release can be read at:   http://www.fdf.org.uk/news.aspx?article=7539

and the Guide can be found at:   http://www.fdf.org.uk/herbs-spices-guidance.aspx

DG-Sante has told Italy it is infringing fish hygiene rules by treating squid with hydrogen peroxide. Treatment with hydrogen peroxide not only whitens the squid to falsify its quality, but acts as a preservative to extend shelf life.

Read the article at: http://barfblog.com/2016/06/food-fraud-eu-warns-italy-to-stop-treating-squid-with-hydrogen-peroxide/