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This paper gives a review of the current and potential applications of ambient ionisation mass spectrometry in determining the authenticity of food. Ambient mass spectrometry (based on electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry) has developed rapidly in the past 18 years and covers thirty different techniques. The review reports the authentication of many foods including olive oil, dairy products, coffee, meat and fish, but quantification using ambient mass spectrometry is still an issue and requires further work. 

Read the full article at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165993616301017

An FDA Press Notice gives details of a new Regulation to prevent food adulteration and fraud. It obliges for the first time all companies (US and foreign) marketing food in the US to complete and maintain a written food defence plan that assesses their potential vulnerabilities to deliberate contamination or adulteration, where the intent is to cause wide-scale public health harm.

Read the full FDA Press Release at:    http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm503586.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Heavy rains in S. America and drought in S. Africa are likely to affect the price of wines especially bulk supplies. It is likely that any shortfall in supply of bottled and bulk wines will be offset by increases in supply from Spain. Australia and New Zealand.

Read the full article at: http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/05/chilean-bulk-prices-set-to-rise-on-back-of-poor-harvest/

The New York Times and Bafblog list some interesting food frauds and dangerous adulteration investigated by police and Interpol around the world.

Read the articles at: http://barfblog.com/2016/05/food-fraud-police-and-interpol-crackdown-on-toxic-food/ 

and:   http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/what-in-the-world/interpol-toxic-food.html?_r=1

There has been a large increase in Sushi restaurants in recent years around the world, but in Europe and North America in particular. Studies have indicated that fish species substitution is widespread in the US restaurants, so a study was commissioned into English Sushi restaurants to see if similar levels were occurring. 115 samples were collected from 31 restaurants from 6 English cities, and analysed using DNA sequencing of cytochromeoxidase. Overall substitution levels were around 10%, which is much lower than that found in US restaurants and also indicates better inspections and enforcement regimes in England.   

Read the full study at:  https://peerj.com/articles/1891/

Food commodities and ingredients that are expensive and are part of complex supply chains are particularly vulnerable. Both herbs and spices fit these criteria perfectly and yet strategies to detect fraudulent adulteration are still far from robust. An FT-IR screening method coupled to data analysis using chemometrics, and a second method using LC-HRMS were developed with the latter detecting commonly used adulterants by biomarker identification. The two tier testing strategy was applied to 78 samples obtained from a variety of retail and on-line sources. There was 100% agreement between the two tests that over 24% of all samples tested had some form of adulterants present. The innovative strategy devised could potentially be used for testing the global supply chains for fraud in many different forms of herbs.

Read the full article at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030881461630680X

An investigation by Italian authorities has put 3 Maltese companies registered to Italian nationals at the centre of a criminal activity in which thousands of tons of conventional wheat, maize, soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower seed were being imported from non-EU countries (Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan) and exported to Italy as organic products. 

Read the article at: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/64943/malta_at_the_centre_of_organic_food_fraud__#.Vzmet5ErLcs

Marketing of cocoa and chocolate products made from single origin cocoa is becoming more popular. However, a reliable analytical method able to verify the geographical origin of cocoa is lacking. The potential of HR MAS ¹H NMR (Magic-angle spinning NMR in solid state) on cocoa powder combined with chemometrics for metabolic profiling was assessed for the geographical origins of 60 fermented and dried cocoa beans of 23 different cocoa producing countries from the three major crop-growing areas (Africa, Central/South America, Asia/Oceania) was evaluated. The same samples were also subjected to extraction and analysis with liquid solution ¹H NMR. The same metabolites were determined by both methods apart from the additional determination of of cocoa lipids by HR MAS ¹H NMR, which were lost in the extraction for liquid ¹H NMR. HR MAS ¹H NMR  gave better discrimination in the verification of geographical origin.

Read the abstract at: NMR determination of cocoa origin

Cyclopropane fatty acids (CPFA), as lactobacillic acid and dihydrosterculic acid, are components of bacterial membranes and have been recently detected in milk and in dairy products from cows fed with maize silage. A specific quantitative gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method for the detection of CPFA in cheeses has been developed. This method was applied to 304 samples of PDO cheeses of certified origin, including Parmigiano Reggiano (Italy), Grana Padano (Italy), Fontina (Italy), Comté (France), and Gruyère (Switzerland). Results showed that CPFA were absent in all of the cheeses whose Production Specification Rules expressly forbid the use of silages (Parmigiano Reggiano, Fontina, Comté, and Gruyère). CPFA were instead present in variable concentrations (300–830 mg/kg of fat) in all of the samples of Grana Padano cheese, where silage feeding is permitted.  The method was applied to a mix of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, showing that the method is able to detect the counterfeiting of Parmigiano Reggiano with other cheeses up to 10–20% Grana Padano content. 

Read the full abstract:  http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b00913?journalCode=jafcau

Australian scientists are using big data analysis of the genomes of 3500 species of micoorganisms, plants, algae and insects in order to find when "disease genes" jump species during evolution. Genes that have been laterally transferred may hold clues to genes that help the pathogen survive, evolve and cause disease, and therefore assist in the search for disease resistance.

Read the article at:  http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/agriculture/item/4166-in-focus-searching-big-data-for-disease-resistance-in-crops

Determination and quantification of durum wheat adulteration with common wheat has been successfully developed using DNA methodology. However, this assay is time consumer and requires specialist equipment. A feasibility study of determining durum wheat adulteration with common wheat grains using multispectral imaging (MSI) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has been carried out. The two techniques have been successful in rapidly distinguishing durum wheat from common wheat grains, and permitting quantitative determination of the amount of common what present.

Read the full paper at:  http://file.scirp.org/pdf/FNS_2016042814342947.pdf 

Master Halal Meat butchers in Ayres Road, Old Trafford, was found guilty of two counts of food fraud at Trafford Magistrates Court on 1 April, and fined £15,000. Two inspections two months apart by Old Trafford EHOs had found  lamb pattie taken from the bakery section contained 50% beef on both visits.

Read the article at:  http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/14421045.Skimping_Halal_butchers_slapped_with___15_000_fine_for_lacing_lamb_mince_with_cheap_beef/?ref=twtrec

The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) seized 1,000kg of sub-standard  red chili powder mixed with bran and rice flour on 19 April 2016 from Shabbir Goods Transport Company near Sheranwala Gate, Lahore. On 20 April,  2,000 kg of chili powder mixed with artificial colour, oil and rice flour were seized by the PFA from Javed Grinding Unit in Akbari Mandi.

Story reported in: http://tribune.com.pk/story/1088806/crackdown-3000-kg-adulterated-red-chili-powder-seized/

2Blades is a not-for-profit organization,  focusing exclusively on advancing scientific insights into practical applications for crop disease resistance. 2Blades have funded John Innes Institute, Norwich to breed wheat stem rust resistant varieties of wheat. It has also funded the Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich to  introduce a resistant gene for Asian soya bean rust into soyabeans, and a blight resistant gene into  potatoes.

Read more at:      http://esciencenews.com/articles/2016/04/25/scientists.advance.disease.resistance.3.worlds.most.important.crops 

A study has been completed to look at the ratio of stable isotopes of  δ¹⁸O, (D/H)_I, (D/H)_II, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr moving from the soil, through the cultivation of grapes and their preparation at different stages into wine.  The isotopic ratio of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr does not vary significantly from grape to wine, and δ¹⁵N has been proposed as further isotopic marker for the geographical characterisation of grape products.

The paper in Food Chemistry by Caterina Durante et al is in press, but the abstract can be read at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814616306318

Yakub Moosa Yusuf ran a fraudulent food business that flouted hygiene regulations and cost farmers and businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds. He was prosecuted by the FSA and Bradford Council, and jailed for 5 years 10 months after being found guilty at Leeds Crown Court on 15 April.

Read the article at: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14428754.UK_s__worst_food_fraud_criminal__jailed_for_nearly_six_years/

An improved method to determine whether apple juice had been added to purple grape juice has been published. The two markers for apple juice are the flavonoid phlorizin, and sorbitol. The authors validated the hplc method, and tested some Brazilian market grape juices, which indicated that 4 out of 39 samples were adulterated.

Read the abstract at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713516301748

Food safety MEPs reiterated their support for introducing mandatory country of origin labelling of meat in meat products (single ingredient and meat ingredient greater than 50%) and milk, and milk in dairy products in a non-binding resolution voted on Tuesday 22 March 2016.

Read the EP Press release at : http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20160321IPR20300/MEPs-reiterate-call-for-mandatory-country-of-origin-labelling-of-meat-and-milk